Dissenchanted lullaby's
by paulalou
Summary: She wanted to break stuff she wanted to destroy everything she could lay her hands on, anything to stop the burning hurt that raged in her chest...finding out the truth can hurt, especialy when you knew all along.
1. Chapter 1

The globe span violently as she smashed her hand against it, spinning on its axis, continents blurring, sea's spinning, metal creaking. The screeches of metal on metal making her teeth ache.

Books lay strewn across the floor, by the small table by the left of her bed, useless in face of the current predicament. Pointless when faced with the king size reality check, that had been the last thirty minutes.

Picking up the last reminder of the hurt that ran through her veins, she picked up the small silver picture frame and threw it with all her might against the poster-covered wall that was Lavender Brown's bed.The glass smashed and the silver buckled, the small moving picture floating down and landing in the centre of the circular room.She stared at the shards of glass that littered Lavender's bed. Glittering against the scarlet bed sheets.

Her wand lay discarded; she did not need it here.

Well not right now at least.She wanted to break stuff; she wanted to destroy everything she could lay her hands on, anything to stop the burning hurt that raged in her chest at the thought of the sight that had met her down in the common room.

She suppressed the urge to look up violent jinxes in the many books that she would normally find comfort in.She would not let him get to her like this; she would not let him make her cry.

The curious looks that had followed her across the fire lit common room had burned her skin, people wanting to know what had happened, Harry following her silently.

She wondered if Harry was still down there, waiting for her return, waiting for the eventual fight that this was going to lead too.

Tonight he would have to wait; if she faced him tonight, she would not be responsible for her actions.

She kicked the table hard, she cursed as Crookshanks shot out from his hiding place, turning his bottle brush tail to her angrily as he stalked off downwards to the fifth years dormitories and no doubt in search of Arnold.

"Stupid, ugly, ginger-"

"Who could you possibly be talking about?" Hermione made a point of reaching out and stopping the spinning globe.

She did not turn; she knew that Ginny would have the same pitying look that Harry had worn.She did not want sympathy, she just wanted to search down Ron and hurt him.She heard Ginny walk across to Lavenders bed and clean up the broken glass. The tinkling sound as it hit the metal bin was the only one in the quite room.

She glared at the globe, her hand lay across Europe, and her finger traced Bulgaria.

Maybe she could just run away, start a new life in Bulgaria, and never have to see the cause of this infeasible pain.She felt betrayed, it was as if a much cherished pet had suddenly rounded on her biting her when she least expected it.

"Are you ok?" Ginny asked.

Hermione felt Ginny's hand on her shoulder; she turned slightly and looked n to the face of the worried looking red head.She was still dressed in her quidditch robes, hair still looking slightly windswept from the match.

"Ginny I-" Hermione could not finish the sentence; words had for once escaped her.

Hermione found herself pushed down on to the bed with Ginny passing her handkerchiefs from the bedside table of Pravati.

"I can go kick him for you…really, really hard …" Ginny made an over the top gesture with her foot and momentarily lost balance on the bed, Hermione looked down at her friend and laughed.

"That's better." said Ginny from her sprawled out position on Hermione's bed. "You really shouldn't get yourself upset, especially not over little Ronikins."

"I know it's just-" Hermione started but Ginny cut her off.

"He caught you by surprise. I told you all of my brothers are brainless morons."

Hermione sighed; maybe it was all just her over reacting. However, Ginny did not realise how much Lavender actually liked Ron. How many times had she lay here in this very bed listening to Lavender go on about how fantastic Ron was, secretly agreeing as she talked about the way that he looked in his quidditch robes, wondering out loud what it would be like to kiss him.Minor observations Hermione thoroughly agreed with, but still would hang back from joining in the conversation.

Hermione still remembered the first day back from the holidays as she had unpacked her trunk, Lavender wandering over and asking about how the summer had been.

Hermione had known fine well she wanted to know about what had happened between her and Ron.

Although Hermione had wondered the same thing a million times, all the time's she had caught him staring at her absentmindedly with a content look upon his freckled face.Hermione had told Lavender that it was none of her business, Ron was her best friend and what they did together was between the two of them.

"So you are just friends then?" Lavender had asked, her voice oozing with sweetness.

"As far as I know yes." Hermione had said making a point of placing the silver photo frame with the picture of her and Ron in the garden of the burrow delicately beside the large globe on her bedside table.

Lavender had given it a dismissive look. Then looked back to Hermione.

"Then is it ok if…"

"Lavender if you fancy my best mate then just tell him, I'm sure he would enjoy the ego boost."

Lavender had gone red.

"I don't want to you know…I mean I know you like him." Hermione paused with her book halfway to the shelf.

"What do you mean?"

"It's really obvious…and I don't blame you I mean Ron is, for lack of a better word hot…" Lavender had gone a little red in the face.

"Oh please once you've seen him at three am, with bed hair and in pyjamas that don't fit, you might think again."

Lavender looked at her. "And when did you see this?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I've spent the last two summers and all of last Christmas with the Harry and Ron, I think between me and Ginny we could put you off the two of them for the rest of your lives."

"So you don't fancy Ron?"

Hermione looked at the book in her hand. A present from the man in question, she knew the untidy dedication inside written in his trademark scrawl of by heart. Yes, ok maybe she did fancy Ron, but only a tiny, little, almost microscopic bit.

"No." Hermione said despite the fact she knew what it would do.

"Well in that case can I-"

"Do whatever you want. You don't need my blessing last time I checked Ron was a free agent." Hermione placed the book down on the shelf.

Lavender understood herself to be dismissed. Hermione made a resolve to stick to Ron like glue until Lavender's unfeasible crush wore off.

And she had stuck to Ron; she had even moved things on, asking him to Slughorn's party.

Not that they had mentioned that at all, not since the day in greenhouse five.

She had not mentioned it to anyone; she could not deal with the' I told you!' That would be emitted from almost every sixth year's mouth.

It wasn't until last night as she had sat in the stands watching Ron flounder yet another easy save and wincing to herself as he crashed in to the post, had the subject come up.

"So I hear you're taking Ron to Slughorn's party." a very board looking Pravati had asked, Lavender having dragged her to the training session yet again.

"Who told you that?"

"Neville. So is it true?"

Hermione nodded, and Lavender snorted.

"Yes?" Hermione had said looking from Pravati to her friend.

"I thought you didn't like Ron?"

Hermione shrugged and turned her eyes back to Ron who waved at her dejected from the goals.

"It depends on what you class as like…"Hermione said quietly.

"You know, when you go on like that you sound like Peeves, stop talking in riddles."

"Lavender, Ron is my best friend. Who else would I invite?"

"Well you could always invite Krum?" said Pravati.

"Victor's really busy at the moment, he's training…and in any case I wanted to go with Ron." Lavender and Pravati exchanged smug looks. "As friends!" Hermione said getting to her feet, the other two following her out of the stands.

"Whatever you say." said Lavender waving to a confused looking Ron, who narrowly managed to dodge a bludger that had been aimed at Dean.

The conversation had lasted well in to the night, only stopping when Ron and the others returned from practice, Ginny storming in dragging Dean by the hand followed shortly by a dazed looking Harry and a viciously angry Ron who nearly bit her head off.

As the conversation had moved up stairs to the dormitory, the same question kept rearing its ugly head, when do you stop being friends and become more than that. In addition, for once Hermione had joined in the conversation.When she finally fell asleep in the early hour's her mind was resolved, she would do it tomorrow, if she didn't someone else would, Lavender was right, Ron was way to attractive for his own good, and soon he was bound to notice and if he did, what would make him want plain old boring bookworm Hermione?

Ginny picked up the picture from the floor.

"You know it's not as if it's the end of the world! I mean you can still be friends." but Ginny knew it was a fruitless attempt. She could see it in the red head's eyes. This would be the death to any relationship that Hermione and Ron had.

"He knows exactly what he's doing, it was his choice." Hermione said in a shallow deadpan voice.

There was a quiet knock on the door and Pravati came in.

"Are you ok?" she said quietly as she picked up Hermione's discarded books. Placing them neatly on the desk.

"No." Hermione really didn't see the point in lying.

"I thought you would want to know…Ron instigated it." she said looking away from Hermione.

"Thanks." Hermione could feel the burning pain running through her veins now, a vicious searing pain.

She could not be mad at Lavender, this was not her fault, this was all Ron's, or maybe it was hers she should have done something sooner. She had no one to blame but herself.

As she sat there Ginny's arm around her, and Pravati speaking words of disgust at their two best friends behaviour Hermione couldn't help but wonder how things could get any worse.

* * *

_ach young love you have to adore it right..._


	2. Prefect Duties

_i was just going to make this a one shot but you know what i like this idea so i'm going to run with it. thnks for the reviews they mean the world._

**_disclamer: if i owned harry potter or anything to do with the potter verse i would lock ron and hermione in a room togeher till they sorted it out._**

**_but i don't so ..._**

**_until then j.k can have her fun teasing us and you can have my ramblings._**

* * *

Hermione glared at the untidy ginger hair that bobbed a few steps in front of her, he had not spoken to her since she had set the canaries on him. Well he had shouted at her, screamed until he had gone through every colour in the spectrum, finally coming to a halt at blue.

Vicious word's, nasty hurtful spiteful words that had made her sob for hours in the girl's bathroom on the second floor, Myrtle giving her words of comfort. Was this what her life had come too? Getting sympathy from a ghost, who would flood the corridor if someone pointed out the fact that she was in fact dead? She had sat there on the toilet block looking at the scorch marks that remained from the Pollyjuice potion that she had made there.

Even back then his spiteful words had hurt her, but he always made it all right again in the end. A small gesture like letting her beat him at wizard chess, or a smile across the classroom always made up for all the stupid stuff he did.

Harry of course did not know about the crying in the bathroom incident, Hermione knew he was trying his best to remain friends with the two of them, not taking side's one over the other. But he wore the same bored expression more and more as he passed her in the corridor, pleading with her under his breath to just give Ron a second chance.

Harry was not stupid; he knew exactly why the little Weasley- Brown over the top displays were getting to her. The reason he had come looking for her the night that Ron had made his move on Lavender. The reason the bare flesh on Ron's neck was covered in small scratches that still had not faded almost three weeks latter.

Ron stopped suddenly in front of her; Hermione stopped a few steps behind him.

Prefect duty had become increasingly difficult of late; the resolve between the two of them not to speak made it almost impossible to enforce any rules, Hermione would reprimand and Ron forgive, just to make her lose her temper.

"Walk beside me or not at all." Ron snapped at her.

Hermione glared at him but did as she was told.

She used to enjoy the late night patrolling of the corridors, the way the two of them would laugh and joke, the way they would simply enjoy each others company, being themselves instead of playing the stupid games they play around the others.

As they descended the last few stairs Hermione cast him a sideways glance, he was watching her.

Hermione made a point of glaring out of the castle window at the swirling snow that was covering the grounds. She had been trying to avoid the looks like the one that Ron was giving her, the one that read like a book, it said come on Hermione challenge me.

She didn't know why she followed him tonight, it wasn't set in stone that the prefects had to patrol the corridors together, and it was just instinct to fall in to the normal pattern of corridors that the two of them would have walked in happier times.

She had side stepped Collin and his camera at the foot of Gryffindor tower stair's , (whoever decided to make him a prefect needed to check themselves in to St Mungos for a very long time.) passed Luna who was on her way to her astronomy lesson in the north tower. It was Luna who had informed her that Ron was sulking around the charms corridor threatening to report anyone caught out of bed, even if they were on there way to the midnight astronomy lessons.

She had found him as Luna said she would, glaring at the portrait of Quintius Umfraville, bossing people around on a quidditch pitch. Ron's predisposition to Quidditch always drew him to that portrait, stupid pointless game.

He heard her footsteps on the cold stone floor and disappeared through the vanishing door at the end of the corridor.

Hermione had not bothered to go after him, what was the point, another fruitless argument that would leave her in tears and make her wish that she had never met the person on the other end.

Though her late night wanderings had brought her to the same place as he walked, as she had a feeling they would, she had caught up to him on the main staircase, he had been so busy watching her that he forgot to jump the trick step and ended up with his foot caught, he cursed. Hermione scowled, now he knew how Neville felt, it wasn't nice was it.

She had eventually made her way down to him, savouring in his blind rage at his own embarrassment.

"Want me to help?" she asked.

He glared at her.

"I can do it myself, you can keep your pity for someone that gives a damn." he struggled a little more; Hermione took a seat a few steps up from him and watched him struggle.

"You can go now." he spat, after he almost lost his balance.

Hermione shrugged and got to her feet.

"Ok, Ok help!" Ron said eventually as Hermione rested herself on the banister a flight of stairs up from where Ron was.

"No. I think I like to see you struggle." she said spitefully.

"No you just like to see me miserable." Ron glared up at her.

"How do you figure that?"

"It's not my fault your to immature to respect that fact that I have a Girlfriend now." said Ron giving up the pointless fight with the step. Hermione knew that you needed help to get out of that step, which is why she always walked up the stairs with Neville when they walked this route from Herbology.

Hermione could feel her temperature rising, she was not going to yell she was not going to raise herself to his taunting.

"Lavender is stupider than she looks if she thinks snogging you is a good idea." Hermione said getting to her feet and walking back down to him, helping him out of the hole.

Ron looked her in the eye.

"Don't even go there, unless you want to spend the night with your foot stuck in the hole." she said quietly.

She realised her grip on his arm.

"You're only wound up so tight because Lavender beat you to it." Ron called after her as she made her way down the steps.

"And so what if I am?" she had called back over her shoulder, as Ron had followed her down in to the entrance hall, the red rubies shone in the Gryffindor hourglass. It had reminded her that she was supposed to show courage in adversity.

Ron ran to catch her up.

He grabbed her by the wrist and turned her round.

"So what if you are? Hermione If you are…. I seriously need to think about my current situation!"

Hermione looked at him and then down at where he had hold of her wrist.

She pulled her arm from his grip.

"Your current situation is this, you're with Lavender." she growled at him.

"I don't have to be." he said quietly.

"Yes you do. It was your choice live with it." she said spitefully.

"Don't get angry with me." he bit back. That's right corner him and he turns in to angry Ron, he was so irrational.

He had stalked of and Hermione had followed, down through the kitchen corridor, up the north tower and now back down towards the Transfiguration corridor, Hermione gazing out across the grounds at Hagrid's hut, the snow falling on it gently. If she were in a better mood, she would have found the seen a lot more pleasing to the eye.

Ron was still watching her, she was now aware that she had come to a halt.

She bit her lip and tried not to connect with Ron's gaze, after years of their eyes connecting across crowded room's it was the hardest thing she had ever done.

"Hermione, just tell me the truth." he said quietly. Hermione could feel him close in behind her.

"What truth Ron?" she said her voice not cracking as she thought it would.

"Don't play stupid with me Hermione, your better than that."

Hermione turned to look at him.

"Yeah well apparently our preconceptions are wrong about each other-"

"Don't use words I don't understand!" Ron was inches away from her face. She studded the freckles on his nose the way they moved when he twisted his face with confusion had always been one of the things that drew her to him. Nevertheless, right now all it proved to show was a flicker of the friendship they used to have.

"It means Ronald," she stressed his name. "That you're shallow enough to snog the first girl that looks your way-"

Ron cut her off.

"Yeah 'cause you and Krum were all about the deep and meaningful conversations right!" it was statement not a question. Hermione suppressed the rage that was forming in her chest. She wanted to punch him again.

"Yeah well at least I didn't do it in front of you…I wouldn't hurt you like that. You however seam to think that tormenting me is the answer to whatever internal struggle you're having."

Ron gawped at her; she knew she had hit the nail on the head.

Ron regained his mental footing, glowering at her for a second.

"Oh get of you're pedestal, don't pretend you don't enjoy winding me up with Krum…try living with us commoners for a few days your highness." and with that he stalked off.

Hermione turned again and looked out the widow for a few moments, letting some of her rage slip away, but not all of it.

A noise in the corridor made her turn.

"Hermione?"

Hermione looked up in to the face of Cormac McLaggen, the boy she had confounded to get Ron on to the team, if Ron wanted her to come down off her 'pedestal', she would make sure that he knew she was doing it to get at him and him alone.

"Hey, listen I was wondering…. are you going to Slughorn's party with anyone?"


	3. snow

Hermione had wanted to say goodbye to Harry as she headed out of Hogwarts for Christmas, but the sight of Ron and Lavender practically sucking each others face off behind him ,had both made her want to bring up her breakfast and punch him at the same time.

Harry had looked at her almost pityingly; he knew know how hard Hermione had taken it. He knew that it would take a small miracle for the two of his best friends to get back on speaking terms.

Hermione now sat in the back of her parents Ford Escort, trundling through the snow swept Scottish mountains. Hermione has wished Ginny a Merry Christmas on the way out of the door, but her closest female friend seamed to be a little put out that she would be spending Christmas stuck with a house full of men, her mother and Phlegm.

Hermione was aware that her mother was watching her in the rear view mirror. Hermione pointedly stared at the rolling clouds, there was going to be a snowstorm.

The burrow would look amazing in the snow, everything outlined in the pale white powder. The pond frozen, the orchard looking like something out of a child's picture book. In comparison to Hermione's small suburban house, the Burrow was almost angelic.

She might get to see it again, one day. Maybe when Ron and Lavender get married and he invites her just to rub her nose in it.

Hermione laughed lightly to herself, visions of her shoving sickly pink coloured icing in to Ron's face had floated across the forefront of her mind. The icing would have to be pink; Lavender was obsessed with pink, baby pink. Everything down to the stupid slippers that she wore on her feet was the same god-awful colour. It was like talking to a giant piece of candyfloss at times. Hermione knew that Pravati secretly agreed.

The two of them had barged in to the dorm, eager to see what Hermione was going to ware to Slughorn's party. Lavender had sat almost defensively as Hermione had pulled out her dress.

Pravati had given it a coveting look and Lavender had commented on how she thought the dark blue material would look nice in pink. Both Pravati and Hermione had exchanged looks and tried to suppress the laugh that was trying to escape.

As Hermione had known, she could not stay mad at Lavender for long. She said stupid stuff, she was quite often completely away with the fairies, after all, she did fancy the divination teacher and he was half horse. Moreover, Lavender had not talked about Ron in the dormitory…not that she was their most of the time; after all slavering over Ron was a time consuming business and squeezing it in to any available second of the day seamed to be called for.

Still the satisfying sound of Ron's disgust at the news that Hermione was going to the party with McLaggen was like music to her ears.

She was particularly proud of the way she had used her words to twist the knife…

"You know the one that 'almost' became keeper."

She knew it would make his blood boil.

And she was right, as she walked down to the common room in her dress robes Ron had cornered her.

"McLaggen?" he asked her. His eyes darting across her face.

"Well since my date stood me up." she said bitterly. She momentarily felt sorry for Ron his face had dropped. But as fast as the little boy look had crossed his face it was gone again and replaced with the vindictive glare that Hermione had gotten used to in the last few weeks.

"Well Slughorn can defiantly call you king and queen slug now." his eyes darted past her, and to the stairs. Hermione knew that Lavender was there so instead of retaliating walked of in to the common room to find McLaggen, it wasn't hard he was about six foot taller than anyone else was.

The sound of Lavender questioning why Ron looked so mad, gave Hermione a spring in her step.

Shame it hadn't lasted long, she had set off to find Ginny at the party, and found her sulking in the corner with Dean, apparently miffed that she didn't want to dance. Hermione had fought enough, so happily mingled with the quidditch players and notable witches and wizards around the room.

That was until McLaggen had tried to molest her under some mistletoe. She quoted Luna and informed him that it was infested with Nargles and that they should move, the thought of actually kissing the sandy haired seventh year was making her feel sick.

She waited until he started a conversation with a Ravenclaw that Hermione didn't know before excusing herself, under the pretence of getting a drink. She spotted Harry and Luna and was falsely mistaken in thinking that this would distract McLaggen in his quest.

Cursing Ron and McLaggen as she went Hermione disappeared out of the dungeon, ignoring the taunts from Malfoy as she passed him in the corridor, she headed up to the Gryffindor common room.

When the fat lady swung open, the common room was empty, well at least she thought that it was.

"Your back early." the voice of Ron came from his favourite armchair by the fire, see Ron I know it's your favourite armchair. I bet Lavender doesn't, Hermione thought bitterly. She walked forward and there was Ron sitting with Crookshanks on his knee, the ginger cat purred contently as Ron flattened the hair around the beasts face.

"I got sick of talking to the seeker from the cannons…what's his name Galvin Grubbert…."

"Galvin Gudgeon? You got bored talking to…." Ron shook his head, Crookshanks pawed at him contently.

Ron had looked up at her as she sat down in the large oversized armchair opposite him.

"Where's your date?" he asked her with only a tiny bit of venom in his voice.

Hermione shrugged, avoiding his gaze. "Where's the girlfriend?"

"She went to bed."

"It must be nice to come up for air." Hermione had said it before she thought about it and regretted it almost immediately.

Any sort of happy predisposition she had caught Ron in vanished.

"You know something I just realised how much of a bitch you can be." said Ron getting up and dropping Crookshanks in to her knee.

"So why are you waiting for me to come back? You looking to get tips from me and McLaggen?" spat Hermione viciously getting to her feet. She followed him to the foot of the stairs where he had stopped.

He was watching her, his normally sparkling blue eyes looked pale and cold.

"I was worried about you being alone with McLaggen alright; he's got a bad reputation-"

"And I'm more than capable of handling him." Hermione was touched by his sentiment.

Ron looked down at her; she felt like she was being studied, she pulled her robes around her tightly.

"I know you are. But you are acting totally irrationally at the moment; I didn't want you doing something you might regret." Ron found her gaze, he was genuinely concerned about her, and this wasn't the same big brotherly concern that he showed for Ginny.

The two of them had stood looking at each other, unaware of how much time had passed.

Hermione felt the worst she had since Ron started dating Lavender. He was being understanding, caring...in some ways it was so much more difficult than listening to him shout at her.

"You look really pretty tonight." Ron said eventually.

Hermione felt herself smile; she had chosen this dress because she knew that Ron would like it.

He was staring her in the eyes, not wanting to look down at the dress. At Hermione's body.

"You know you could just have come with me as a friend." Hermione said quietly.

Ron looked at her.

"No I couldn't, like you said I made a choice." his voice was shaken it was full of regret.

Neither of them said anything, the only sound in the room was the rustling of the real fairies on the Christmas tree in the corner.

A small smile crept to the corners of Ron's lips. Hermione hadn't noticed that she was staring at them so obviously.

She looked away. It broke the two of them out of there trance.

"There's never any bloody mistletoe when you need it." muttered Ron under his breath; Hermione pretended she hadn't heard him. She would have to, Ron was with Lavender, and she could not do that to herself.

"Ron," he turned and looked at her. "Have a good Christmas." she had said as she ascended the stairs to the dorm.

"You to Hermione." he had whispered after her.

The storm that had been threatening ever since Scotland broke as they passed through Hermione's hometown, the industrial city almost vacant from the winter blizzards that swept the streets. Hermione watched as the Christmas lights blew in the wind, it confused her more than anything the way Ron could change from the man she knew he was, to the spoilt little brat within the space of a minute.

"Are you ok dear?"

"Yes mum, just thinking." Hermione said as they pulled in to the street that Hermione called her own, the row of old Victorian houses was the most impressive in the town, although looks could be deceptive.

As they got out of the car the cold wind whipped at Hermione's face making it red raw.

Holding Crookshanks tightly she followed her mother in to the house.

Crookshanks jumped out of Hermione's arms when they got in to the house, he stalked up the wooden staircase and in to Hermione's room on the third floor.

When her father joined them in the house Hermione took her coat up and hung it on the old hat stand that stood by the back door, her mother had decorated, the walls were now a dark Lavender colour, Hermione thought about the irony of this for a moment, but her mother didn't know anything about her current predicament. In any case the walls of the Granger house were to busy to see the colour of the paint anyway. At the end of the hallway stood a large glass cabinet full of small porcelain bells, they had been her grandfathers, along side his love of collecting beer mats, the tiny coasters were stored in boxes in the attack, her father refused to part with them. Lying on the bottom shelf of the cabinet lay numerous old magazines that her mother would save for the reception at her surgery.

On the floor next to the cabinet lay Hermione's junior school bag, it even still had the little reflective stars stuck to the flap. Hermione smiled, her mother really would not throw anything away.

The kitchen was littered with pots and pans, non of the grangers could cook that well, but they were always willing to have a go, after all they were dentists and there was far to much sugar in most junk food.

The kitchen table was buried under a pile of research notes, her father loved to work at the table, he said the kitchen was the heart of the home and it had the most energy, Hermione thought that Mrs Weasley would probably agree.

The living room was exactly the same as the last time Hermione had visited in the summer. Books lined one wall, a T.V hid, tucked away in the corner, and the faded sofa lay hidden under many blankets.

"Why don't you go and put your things in your room?" suggested her mother, Hermione nodded and followed Cruickshank's lead up the large wooden stairwell, the first landing ( her parents room) was lined with book's all apart from a single print in the middle of it, a map of the world. Tiny flags indicated places where the grangers had visited. Hermione noticed that a vast majority of the flags seamed to be quiet new, especially the one sticking in Bulgaria.

She turned left at 'T', the books were in alphabetical order, and ascended a smaller flight of stairs.

Hermione's room was at the top of the house, it was smaller than the other room's but the view was amazing from the small round window in the alcove.

In stark contrast to all the wood in the rest of the house, Hermione's room had many fabrics; it was painted in pastel shades, not that you could see them through the amount of objects that cluttered the shelves. Snow globes, books, magazines, cd's and childhood toys lined the walls.

Crookshanks slept on the large yellow beanbag in the centre of the room. Behind him on the desk a picture of Ron and Harry waved to her, she walked over and turned it down to the desk. Her eyes fell on all her old school books, all Lockhart books lay stacked neatly; maybe she would read them again over the time she was home. (She would purposefully ignore the nasty, snide comments written in them by Ron.) On top of the Lockhart books lay the standard book of spells grades one through five, Un-fogging the future (This one had more than a bit of her own graffiti written in it.) And her beginners guide to transfiguration, charms and potions, the last one had a huge burn mark on the cover from where Ron had spilt some almino bile on her book.

She sighed even when se was home everything reminded her of Ron, it was sickening.

She picked up 'confronting the faceless' and threw herself down on the bed.

When her mother woke her light of a new day was creeping through the window, Christmas Eve, all thoughts of Ron were pushed out of her mind as she decorated the tree and helped her mother try to dissever the instructions on the back of the pudding mix, and it was nice to spend time with her family.

When she finally returned to her room, to get changed out of the sticky clothes and in to something that did not smell like egg white and baking powder, most of the pudding mix had ended up on the floor and was now being licked at by Crookshanks. Her room wasn't empty, a small feathered something attacked her as she walked in the door.

Hedwig hooted doefully from her desk. Hermione grabbed pig before he started attacking her head again.

"Come to get there presents?" she asked the owls as she pulled clean clothes from her wardrobe and put them on.

She rooted through her bag, pulled out the parcel for Harry, and tied it to Hedwig's leg.

"You wouldn't mind taking the others as well would you." she asked the owl, the peck on the hand Hermione understood to mean that the owl didn't mind at all. She tied the presents for Mr and Mrs Weasley and Fred and George to the owl's leg.

Pig hoped from claw to claw on the desk.

"It's ok pig I have your delivery here." she tied the package for Ginny to the small owls leg.

Momentarily she felt guilty. She couldn't ignore Ron completely.

Smiling at her own brilliance, she rushed down the stairs returning to her room and slid something small and green in an envelope. She scribbled Ron's name on the parchment but did not say whom it was from.

She had a felling he would know though, as she watched the owl's disappearing in to the blizzard raging outside.

Who else was going to send him a sprig of mistletoe?

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_**Thankyou for the loverly reviews, and the words of encoragment. just to let you know i'm going by J.K Rowlings time line so this would be set in the late 90's ( 1996) you might want to know that for the next chapter, because you might end up thinking that i'm a compleate nutter with some of the referances. i myself was12/13(my birthday falls at the sameday as a certain mr harry potter)in the year hermione would have been 16/17 so the next chapter has a lot of me in it. it's a scarry thought right...just think...east17 boyzone all the really awfull boybands and fasion that was around at that point...haha i think i might thoroghly torture the pore girl.**_

_**ok i'm rambling, thankyou for the reviews thought i love you all XXXXXXXXXX**_


	4. realty check

_**A/N: thank you for the reviews. For toughs who asked me questions….**_

_**Quidditch7: Ron has a tendency to say things when he is mad, I think he probably would call Hermione a bitch if she really got to him. In the cannon he nearly called Ginny a slut and that's Ginny…and we know that his swearing is one of the things that really gets to Hermione so that's why he called her a bitch he had actually thought it through…Ron isn't as stupid as people like to think he is. (At least that is my argument)**_

_**Allayra: I am glad you liked Hermione's house. Everyone always imagines the Grangers house to be immaculate, but in any scene in the book where Hermione is studying J.k always says that stuff is spread out everywhere, I recon she has my quirks and my family's untidy genetics…I abused my families untidiness for inspiration**_

_**Bygalee: yeah I wondered what she did after Lavendergate as well, I thought she took it a little to well, and then after Christmas she didn't seem quite as spiteful towards Ron, something defiantly happened before he was poisoned…

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**_

Hermione woke on Christmas morning to the sound of her Mother singing along to the Radio on the landing a floor below. 'Last Christmas 'by wham murdered by her mother at (she looked at the blinking numbers on the alarm clock) five am on Christmas morning was not the way she had imagined spending this Christmas. She pulled herself in to a sitting position and squinted out on to the dark street outside, a think layer of snow lay on everything it had touched. By the time the sun rose it would be gone, nothing lasted long around hear.

She pulled on her fluffy dressing gown and slid her feet in to her black fluffy slippers.

A Christmas stocking lay at the end of the bed, red and gold, the same one she had found at the bottom of her bed since she was two. It would hold the same things that it did every year, one orange, a banana, a bar of sugar free chocolate, a new hairbrush, smelly stuff and a new Christmas bauble for the tree.

Sure enough when she tipped the stocking up, the afore mentioned objects fell on to the yellow bedspread.

A bright silver bauble with her name and the year on it glinted in the pale light from the street outside.

She hooked it up with her index finger and shuffled to the door.

The landing looked like the inside of a department store grotto; her mother had evidently been working late in to the night on making things just perfect for the day.

"Morning." her mother smiled as she sprinkled confetti snow over the book pile.

"Mum it's five am."

"I know! I let you have a lie in this year, now go wake your dad." Her mother grinned at her from under tinsel that she had used to tie back her dark brown locks. "Oh there you are Crookshanks!" Hermione watched as the ginger cat dashed out of the bathroom and down the stairs, Hermione's mother in hot pursuit.

Hermione opened the door to her parent's room and shimmied over to the bed.

Her dad was lying awake watching the snow falling gently outside.

"I do worry about your mother's sanity." he said quietly as Hermione climbed on to the bed next to him.

"Has she put that ugly Santa outside again?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Yes." her dad shook his head. "Well at least it scares away the carol singers." he laughed lightly as he hugged Hermione.

"It really is evil."

"But your mother likes it." he sighed. "You know we really should join her, the excitement of all the presents will have her almost imploding."

Hermione laughed as she imagined her mother leaving nothing but scorch marks on the living room floor.

When they joined her mother in the living room Hermione had more cause to worry about her mother's sanity, she had Crookshanks on her knee a large pink tinsel bow around his neck.

The cat had the same sort of expression that Ron wore when he was told he had to wear dress robes. Hermione smiled quietly to herself as she sat down on the old sofa pulling a blanket around her to block out the draft coming from the empty fireplace.

She passed the bauble to her father who added it to the tree, her mother smiled, it was a simple thing but the Seventeen baubles on the tree reminded her of each and every Christmas that Hermione had been in their life.

The Christmas Hermione let the hamster out of the cage and it chewed through the cable for the fairy lights, the Christmas that Hermione got stuck up the chimney. (Her uncle Alfie would tell everyone about it still to this day.). The Christmas where they had burnt the turkey, and ended up having dinner with Mrs Mcavity and her four cats and pet sausage dog Rufio.

Hermione's mother even kept the broken bauble, the one that had smashed when Hermione managed to pull the tree on top of her. The year that her father had decided, she should learn to ride a bike, in the house, at half past ten at night…

It was Seven am by the time Hermione had unwrapped all the individually wrapped books that her parents had bought her for Christmas, evidently they had been in contact with Mrs Weasley for some of the volumes, they smelt heavily of the burrow, she wondered what Harry would be making of his first proper Christmas with the Weasley's? She knew Ginny would be thoroughly enjoying the presence of Harry, Ginny may not say it, but Hermione could read her friend like a book, both of them, she had seen the way that Harry was looking at Ginny lately. She wanted to feel happy for the two of them, but the mixed up way she had left her conversation with Ron, the night of Slughorn's party would not let her.

Ron had said she looked pretty. Ron had looked like he wanted to kiss her; it was not the first time either.

He had insinuated that he wanted to kiss her.

Why the hell didn't he just kiss her and get it over with? Then whatever his mild curiosity was about her would be filled. He could go back to Lavender and let Hermione die in her own humiliation in peace.

The image of the two of them as she said goodbye to Harry floated across her mind.

"Hermione you just crushed…." her mother indicated the small silver parcel in her hand, a present from uncle Alfie, it would be chocolate of some description, full of sugar, he didn't believe in depriving children of chocolate.

Hermione placed the parcel down and excused herself, she traced upstairs, taking her change of clothes with her.

She turned on the radio, everyone else was so happy why couldn't she be?

More and more over the last month she had thought about Victor, all the time's he had asked her to reconsider her decision, after all they were still good friends.

Hermione glared at the radio, as 'all I want for Christmas is you' came on. She tuned it in again until she found a song that was a little more fitting, she sang along as she dressed.

**_I'll have a blue Christmas without you;  
I'll be so blue thinking about you.  
Decorations of red  
on a green Christmas tree  
Won't mean a thing if  
you're not here with me._**

**_I'll have a blue Christmas, that's certain;  
And when that blue heartache starts hurting,  
You'll be doing all right  
with your Christmas of white,  
But I'll have a blue, blue Christmas_**

"Hermione… you have gifts from the Weasley's." her mother shouted up the stairs. Hermione looked at herself in the mirror, she had been crying, she would not be able to hide it from her mother, she grabbed the Santa hat from the door and shoved it low over her face, maybe she could distract her mother long enough for the blotches to subside.

Crookshanks was eyeing Hedwig with contempt as the bird helped itself to nuts from the coffee table. Her mother looked up at Hermione as she threw herself down in the seat next to the table and looked at the small collection of coloured papers on the table.

She opened them carefully, reading the gift tags aloud.

Ginny had ironically bought her a new diary. It was pink a fluffy. Hermione knew Ginny was trying to make her laugh for on the inside she had written in her loopy scrawl 'I figured that you could vent in this pink fluffy thing about another pink fluffy thing we both know.' Hermione added it to her pile next to her.

Fred and George had sent her a selection from their new line of daydream charms and beauty products. (Don't think we think your ugly or anything we just knew you would appreciate the work we put in to them Fred. Have a good Christmas, even if you should be hear with us it's ok well jinx Ron George)Hermione had laughed at the last part.

Mrs Weasley had sent her a dark blue Weasley jumper and a large box of Bettie bots every flavour beans, but she liked Harry's present best of all, a tiny model of the solar system, no bigger than a fifty pence piece.

Hermione's mum looked at her curiously, as she showed her this.

"What?"

"Did Ron not send you anything?"

Hermione looked away.

"What happened between the two of you?" her mother asked quietly.

"We had a fight."

"That's nothing new."

"It's not just that it's…." Hermione looked down at the small spinning planets in her hand.

"What's her name?" her mother asked in a curious yet knowing voice.

"L…avender." said Hermione trying to hold back the way she wanted to spit the name out.

"I see, have you told Ron how you feel?" her mother looked at her, Hermione put her present from Harry down on the table before she crushed it like she had done her uncle Alfie's chocolate.

"What's the point? He obviously likes Lavender, you should see them their constantly all over each other, and I've tried to avoid them mum I really have, but there really is only so much time you can spend in the library, and I don't want to lose Harry as a friend, and what if Ron doesn't like me back? I mean he has hinted that he does, and I really like him mum you know I do, but every time I do something to show him he throws it back in my face…" Hermione paused for breath. Her mother nodded to indicate she could go on she was listening… "And he called me so many nasty names, I mean ok I know he was mad at me for setting a flock of Canaries at him but…."

Hermione's mum laughed so hard that Hermione stopped.

"You set a flock of canaries on him?" Hermione glared at her laughing mother before realising that if you weren't there it probably did sound stupid.

In fact she knew how stupid it sounded, she was soon laughing stupidly alongside her mother.

"Did they hurt him?"

Hermione nodded wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Well he shouldn't upset you should he princess." her mother said hugging her as the laughter subsided.

"I felt awful for doing it, Ginny said he deserved it."

Her mother looked at her.

"Do you hate him?"

Hermione thought hard, a small smile crept across her face. No, she didn't hate Ron, she might still want to cause him pain but she didn't hate him.

"From the smile I'm guessing not…" her mother got up as the doorbell rang.

Hermione watched as her mother let the room, Hedwig hooted at her Hermione watched as she stretched her large snowy wings.

If she didn't hate him, what did she feel? Was it betrayal? All she knew is that her head hurt and she felt more confused than she had been at all in the last month.


	5. the price is right

**Disclamer thingggggggyy: pst... h.p and the whole h.p thing belonge to JO Rowling and her worryingly good mind...she just lets us write about stuff cause she's nice like that ...Rock and sausageroles JO!**

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Hermione helped herself to some of the crushed chocolate from the silver foil in front of her.

She was fed up.

She watched as her little cousin Amanda danced to the Spice girls on her walkman. Spinning around on the spot with tinsel in each hand.

Hermione pulled her Weasley jumper closer to her, why did she suddenly feel so isolated. Why did she feel so far away from the world she loved, the people she loved?

She carried her wand with her even here in the safety of her own home. But then again this wasn't as safe as she would have liked. What would happen if the Death eaters turned up here? She would never be able to fend them off alone, no mater how accomplished a fighter she was now.

What would Ron do if she were murdered in her bed? Would he morn or thank the havens that his choices had been made easier?

'Yes these and many other thoughts could be yours if the price is right!' Hermione thought to herself, 'oh great I am quoting stupid TV shows in my head that is not a good sign' she thought as she picked Amanda up off the floor where she had landed in a lump.

"'Mione. Do a trick?" the little girl asked her quietly. Checking to make sure that her aunt was out of the room as she spoke.

"I'm not supposed to…."

The little girl turned her big amber eyes to her. "Pwwwwwweeeesssseee" she wined.

"Ok what?"

"Something!" she said dancing on the spot.

Hermione sighed and pulled out her wand pointing it as the fairy on the top of the tree Hermione thought 'Wingardium leviosa' the grotesquely pink thing that she had decided to name Lavender floated down in to the hands of the five year old in front of her.

"Wow!" said Amanda looking at Hermione in amazement.

"Now don't ask again ok, I'm not supposed to do magic in front of people I get in to loads of trouble." she said as the little girl jumped on to her knee.

"Ok 'Mione I won't ask again." she said making a huge show of crossing her fingers.

"Want to go make snowmen?" Hermione asked, suddenly felling a lot better. The little girl nodded excitedly and ran in to the hall.

"Mum were going outside….."

"Ok don't be to long!" shouted her mother from the kitchen where a small ball of smoke was floating over the oven. It was just as well Hermione had practically stuffed herself with chocolate and jellybeans this morning.

She helped the little girl fasten her coat and pulled her own over coat on, fastening her school scarf tightly around her neck.

The snow still had a light covering on the ground outside even though it was now almost eleven.

She watched as the little girl eyed the small front yard worryingly. She was staring at 'Satan Santa' her father had such a way with words.

"Why is it ginger?" the little girl asked.

"I have no idea, it could be rust." said Hermione leading the little girl out in to the street, not a single car had travelled up the street all day, the footprints that Amanda and her mum had made were the only ones in the shining white snow.

Hermione chose the spot next to the gate and started to pile the snow up in a ball.

"You're doing it all wrong." said Amanda shaking her head; she proceeded to show Hermione exactly how you make the snowman from hell.

By the time, the five year old had made a body the size of her Hermione was frozen through.

"Wow that's a big snowman." said a voice behind her nearly making her jump about seven feet in the air.

She turned around ready to hurt whoever was hanging around behind her, she froze as the dazed and slightly lost looking Tonks smiled at her from under a ridiculously large hat and coat.

"Tonks?"

She was barley recognisable as the bright bubbly woman; her lank brown hair fell around her face.

"Hey, Merry Christmas." she said quietly.

"And you….I thought you were going to the Burrow?" Hermione asked as she lifted the little girl up to shove rocks in to the smaller ball of snow for eyes.

"The same could be said for you." Tonks said quietly. The two of them exchanged looks.

"Ron wouldn't want me there." Hermione said looking away.

"Ginny said something was up between the two of you."

"Yeah you could defiantly say that." Hermione said as the little girl jumped down to the ground to observe her work. "So why aren't you getting force fed Molly's cooking?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Oh you know….." Tonks looked away. Hermione had a fair idea of what was wrong with Tonks, but the older woman needed some respect, it was not as if Hermione was the best person to be dishing out relationship advice.

"Listen do you want to come in? I mean is there any point in us standing out in the street?" Hermione asked. Tonks was about to answer when she was hit with a face full of snow.

Amanda was behind the two of them, practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

Tonks smiled lightly and picked up a small ball of snow throwing it at the little girl.

She ducked and hid behind Hermione.

After this all out war started, Hermione who had neither the swiftness or the throwing ability of the other two was soon getting belted with snowballs left right and centre.

"Hey no ganging up on me!"

"Get evil Santa!" the little girl shouted and started aiming snowballs at the horrendous plastic and metal Santa in the Grangers tiny front yard.

"That is the ugliest thing I ever seen." said Tonks as Amanda hit the face dead on. Tonks clapped, her face looking happy for the first time since Sirius had been killed. She turned to Hermione.

"She would be an awesome chaser." Tonks said as the second snowball hit the doorbell.

"Do we have to talk Quidditch?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

Tonks nodded.

"Ok then yes she would probably be fantastic as a chaser, but seeing as I'm the only witch in the family I doubt that will happen."

"Shame." said Tonks as the house door opened. Hermione's father opened the door, he to receive a snowball in the face. The two women watched as Amanda howled with laughter on the way back to the house.

"She looks like a handful."

"She is."

The two women sat in the living room warming themselves by the now lit fire.

Tonks had received a Weasley jumper this morning, a bright pink one with yellow stars, she to wore it with pride. It was a comfort when you felt left out of things Hermione supposed as she watched the older witch fiddle with the cuffs.

"I thought you were stationed in Hogsmead."

"I was but the school is closed for Christmas so I decided to …" she trailed off.

"I saw you at the match." Hermione said casually.

"Ron is a really good keeper."

"I know…" Hermione looked down at her hands.

"Do you want me to hit him for you?"

Hermione laughed. "I think I could manage that one myself." she looked up at Tonks, her face was smiling but she still had that sad look in her eye. "You know Ginny offered to do the same thing?"

"She's a clever girl that Ginny." said Tonks. "Doesn't miss a trick…"

The next few hours were spent talking about everything and nothing at all…. Tonks ended up stopping for Christmas dinner, her mother always made way to much, Amanda asked loads of questions about the wizarding world, she was so nosey but Tonks answered as many as she could.

When the two of them finished dinner, they took the dishes in to the kitchen talking animatedly about the arrest of Stan the bus conductor.

"I used to go to school with him…he was in the same year as me and Charlie."

"Really?"

"Yeah he had a tendency to blow things up instead of the actual spell…."

Hermione instantly thought of Shamus, oh well he could always get a job on the Knight bus if everything went down the pan.

There was a tapping on the window, Hermione turned around sharply, and a large hawk owl was perched on the window ledge.

Hermione knew what the scarlet envelope meant, who would send her a howler?

Tonks lifted the window ledge and the bird flew in dropped the envelope in to Hermione's hand (where it began to smoke dangerously) and flew back out of the window in haste.

"Open it." advised Tonks. Hermione had vivid flashbacks of horrible boils and burns from cursed howlers in the past….

"It's just a normal howler." said Tonks almost reading her mind.

Hermione opened it tentatively.

**_"Stay away from Ron."_**

Lavender's voice was magnified a thousand times in the tiled room.

Hermione watched as the envelope burst in to flames in front of her.

"I think someone thinks you fancy there boyfriend." said Tonks leaning back on the counter almost knocking the pots off.

"Like I would ever do anything whilst he's with her." Hermione almost spat the last word. Her liking and toleration of lavender was following her owl out of the window.

"You know I think you should…" Tonks started Hermione shot her an evil look.

"I tried playing him at his own game, it didn't work," she shuddered at the thought of McLaggen. "If she wants him so bad she can have him."

"Really?"

Hermione looked out the window at the dangerously dark clouds floating towards the house.

"No, but…Why can't this be easy, seriously give me advanced ancient runes any day."

"How bad are they?"

"It's like watching him get to grips with the giant squid, every hour of the day…"

"That bad hu?"

"Yes that bad."

"And how much do you like him?"

Hermione could feel herself going red.

"Though as much…you know him and the squid will burn out eventually…"

"Oh great so I just have to wait for him to get bored and move on to me?"

Tonks shook her head.

"Hermione, Ron is crazy if he can't see that you love him as much as you obviously do…"

"I don't love Ron…."

"Really?" Tonks stared at her. "Because you seriously go on like you do."

"How can it be love if it's just one sided?"

Tonks shook her head. "Hermione its not one sided trust me, that man would throw himself in front of a train for you if you asked him too."

"Yeah well he has a funny way of showing it."

"Did you ever think he might just be doing it to get to you? To make you jealous?"

Hermione watched as the snow started to fall quietly from the dark clouds.

"Do you really think Ron is that smart?"

"I wouldn't put it passed him Hermione would you?"

Hermione pulled her jumper tighter around her. The smell of the burrow filled her nose, blocking out the burnt turkey smell. She knew Ron was not as stupid as he liked to make people believe. He knew exactly what to say and what to do to wind her up, to get a reaction out of her.

He was playing her and she hated him for it.

"No, I wouldn't put it past him at all…"

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**_thankyou for the reviews... i know i haven't done any flashbacks in the last two chapters but i pick up the origanal story telling angle in the next chapter ..._**

**_Quidditch7 i know you wern't having a go at me . i just felt i should explain ron's actions.it's a quirk of mine sorry i love getting your reviews._**

**_until then i'm off to work to see how much damage the fire did to the stock last night._**

**_love and stuff paula-lou_**


	6. St Neville

Hermione threw her things down on the bed in the dormitory and drew the curtains around her. She would compose herself, go visit Hagrid before the others got back, pretend the nasty little run in she had , had with Lavender in the common room hadn't happened. After ten day's stuck in her house with only her mother's positive attitude for company the snide comments of Lavender was a shock to the system.

She breathed in deeply trying to remember all the words of wisdom that Tonks had shared with her on Christmas day. Hermione was aware (as she had seen Tonks on more than one occasion) that she had shown up on Christmas day under ether Ministry orders or the orders, orders. Her over sized hat and coat combination stood out for miles even in the blizzard that had not given up at all for the past week.

Not that Hermione had minded. She had liked knowing there was at least someone out there that cared about her well-being. In her entire time at home, she had not had a single letter from Ginny or Harry.

Well she had survived on her own before, she would manage again.

She pulled out her cloak , hat and scarf wrapping them tightly around her as she descended back in to the common room, she paused long enough to send Lavender a contemptuous look before marching across the room and out of the portrait hole.

As she reached Hagrid's the snow began to give up, it still came up to her knees and froze her to the bone, but she could at least see further than just her arm's length in front of her.

Hagrid opened the door welcoming her in to the warm cosy hut; at least she knew that Hagrid cared.

Fang jumped up at her as she shook the snow from her hair and hung her cloak up on the coat stand in the corner of the room.

She bowed low as she approached, as Buckbeak had eyed her suspiciously. After some consideration, he lowered his head and Hermione stroked his tawny feathers. His eyes closed lazily under her touch. She had a certain feelings for this great beast; for once, she did not think Hagrid's interest in the dangerous was unsupported. Buckbeak was truly a beautiful creature, misunderstood and yet proud to uphold the image that he would be deadly when dishonoured.

"So what brings you down here Hermione?" Hagrid said poring her out a large mug of tea.

"I didn't want to be up in the castle on my own." she said honestly, there was no point in lying to Hagrid he always seamed to know.

"Harry and the others not back yet?"

"No…they all went to the Burrow for Christmas." Hermione said looking down at the brown liquid in the mug that Hagrid had handed her.

"Molly will be bubblin' her eyes out if I know Molly." said Hagrid passing a plate of rock cakes to Hermione, fang drooled unceremoniously down her leg, and Hermione did not seem to mind.

"Tonks came to mine over Christmas."

Hagrid looked at Hermione curiously.

"I had wondered where she was… I went looking for her in the three broomsticks on Christmas Eve; Rosemerta said she had gone home for Christmas, what with all the students doing the same."

Hagrid took a long sip from his barrel size mug and observed Hermione over the brim. "She's another one that turned down Molly's offer of Christmas at the Burrow."

Hermione averted her eyes from Hagrid and watched as the snow that had lightened on her way down to the cabin began falling heavily again.

Were Ron and Harry back from the Burrow yet? Had the omnipresent Lavender engulfed Ron, were they at the moment making Parvati wish that she had followed Hermione across the snow swept grounds? Parvati had defiantly looked uncomfortable as Lavender cornered Hermione on the way to the Gryffindor common room.

"Hey little miss know it all. I want a word with you." Lavender's voice had followed her up the stairs from the great hall; Hermione had tried her best to slide down the secret corridor behind, Wilbur the unwashed. However, the hawk like eyes of Lavender so quick to find fashion disasters and fault in others had found Hermione with no effort at all.

Slowly Hermione had turned around and looked in to the face of Lavender. She had a good few inches in height on Hermione so it was quite daunting.

"Who would send Ron Mistletoe for Christmas?" she said accusingly.

"I have no idea…were not speaking remember?" Hermione had turned to walk back up the stairs but Lavender apparently did not think that this was a good enough answer.

"Oh yes strange that when I ask him about it he has no idea why you aren't talking."

"What has it got to do with you why Ron and I aren't talking?" Hermione said not turning around; Lavender was following her up the stairs followed closely by Parvati.

"It's just curious that you're suddenly not speaking to him after he starts going out with me that's all…"

Hermione had stopped at the bottom of the charms corridor and turned to Lavender, her heart was beating excessively fast. She had to sort herself out, she bit her lip and avoided Lavenders eye.

"What cat got your tongue?" Lavender looked pleased with herself, and Hermione knew she would have to count to ten before she spoke or she might say or do something that she would regret.

One…

"I mean, you did say I could go after him…"

Two…

"I can understand that you're jealous of the fact that he chose me over you…"

Three…

"Of course I bet you thought that he wouldn't even look twice at me, I mean you are his darling Hermione right-"

Three and a half…

"Shame he thinks you're a total joke…"

Four…

"I mean look at you…"

Four and a half…

"I bet you used a love potion on Victor Krum or something…I mean who would want to go out with …"

"Lavender shut up ok." Parvati cut her off. She looked from Lavender to Hermione.

Hermione knew she must look a little red in the face.

"What she wants to know was it you who sent Ron the mistletoe at Christmas?" Parvati asked Hermione.

Hermione caught her breath and let her anger subside.

"Why would I send Ron mistletoe for Christmas? Have you forgotten who his brothers are? Do you not think that Fred and George might have sent it?"

"That's what I said!" Parvati said exasperated. "I mean, they love winding Ron up don't they!"

Hermione nodded in agreement even if she felt sick from telling such an outright lie.

"Even so…it doesn't explain why the two of you aren't speaking." Lavender said bitterly.

Hermione turned and headed up the charms corridor her bag on her shoulder.

Lavender was in hot pursuit. She caught up to her as she headed up the corridor that lead to the Fat Lady.

"How often do Ron and I fight?" Hermione said as they came to a halt outside the portrait.

"All the time." said Lavender angrily.

"Exactly, and if you hadn't noticed he hasn't exactly been in a rush to apologise for his last bout of stupidity, he's been to busy sucking your face off in every available second he has." Hermione glared at the girl that stood in front of her.

"Ron isn't stupid." Lavender practically bit Hermione's head off.

"I know he's not stupid, he's my best friend you think I don't know that it's all an act?" Hermione mentally marked a point on her internal scorecard.

"Yeah, well he might have been your best friend but right now he hates your guts." Lavender said vindictively. She scraped that last mark.

"Ladies… ladies….please can we keep the voices down?" the Fat Lady groaned from her portrait, Hermione turned "Abstinence" she said and the portrait swung open.

Lavender climbed through the portrait hole behind her, followed by Parvati who looked like she was rather enjoying her two dorm mates going at each other.

"If I find out-"

"Find out what?" Hermione said well aware that the few people who sat around the fire had turned to look at them, including the Creavy brothers who were known for telling anyone that would listen the inner details of any juicy bit of gossip they could get their hands on.

"If I find out that anything….and I mean anything is going on between the two of you I swear to Merlin I'll…"

Hermione looked at Lavender she seemed to be lost for words.

"You know personally I miss the entertainment value." said Neville as he pushed himself between Lavender and Hermione, "Life has been a lot more boring around here since you and Ron stopped speaking. It's too quite without you raising hell with each other."

Hermione did not say anything but she missed the little arguments as well, she missed just being able to argue then go back to being friends again, and she missed Ron.

"Lavender you seriously need to stop stressing…who is Ron with?" Neville said turning to her.

"Me…but…"

"Well that's the end of that argument…Hermione up the stairs. Lavender goes calm down next to the fire."

Neville rolled his eyes at Parvati as Lavender marched away towards the fire.

"So did you send him the mistletoe?" Neville asked Hermione following her to the bottom of the stairs.

Hermione looked at him.

"How many people did she tell?"

"Anyone who was in the room when she got here, I mean you are on top of the list of likely suspects." Neville said quietly.

"Why does everyone think that I would do something like that?"

Neville shook his head; Hermione knew he was trying his best not to laugh.

"Hermione you do realise why you're Lavenders number one competition don't you?"

Hermione did not answer him.

"You invited Ron to that dance, she knows that…you invited him… it proves that you are willing to take things in to your own hands, she knows you like Ron, and you're his best friend other than Harry," Neville looked across at Lavender who did a very un-lady like hand motion in their direction. "I would start watching your back; she seems a little aggravated with you."

"Just a little?" Hermione had said stalking off up the stairs.

It was on the stairs she had decided she would go see Hagrid. Life with Hagrid was simple; the only vicious many faced dogs you had to worry about around Hagrid could be put to sleep by music.

Moreover, it was only now in the quite hut did Hermione realise how stupid and irrational it had been to do something so out of character.

Ron was with Lavender, Hermione would never in a million years go after someone else's boyfriend.

At least the old Hermione wouldn't, the bookish Hermione that always needed to be right wouldn't, but she seamed less and less like that scared little girl that needed to know about everything in her new and exiting world, she didn't need to know everything, the unknown was her new personal challenge, the new and scary.

And the feelings she had for Ron were defiantly new and scary, how could you possibly love someone and hate them all at the same time?

He infuriated her, he played stupid which he clearly wasn't, anyone who could put such thought and strategy in to such simple things as chess was not stupid, he had logic, he did well in his exams, (even without Hermione's help) he might not get top marks but he always did well.

The way he always jumped to her aid, she was more than capable of fighting her own battles.

Hermione thought back to the end of last year and the fight at the ministry, Ron had loyalty, to both Hermione and Harry, but why did he always seam to do the exact thing that would wound her up and caused her pain?

She drained the bottom of the mug and placed it in the sink.

There was a knock at the door. Hagrid got up and opened it, Dumbledore entered. Strangely, there were no traces of snow in his long silver beard. But after all this was Dumbledore, in Hermione's opinion the greatest wizard that had ever lived, and that was before she had actually met the man, now she felt more resolved in her first impression.

"Ah, Miss Granger, just the young lady I was looking for…" he routed around in his pocket and handed her a role of parchment. "I presume you have guessed its destination?" Hermione nodded as the old man observed her over the top of his glasses, up close his burned hand looked a lot worse that she had imagined.

"Did you have a nice Christmas?" Dumbledore asked her kindly.

"Yes sir, Tonks came for Christmas dinner, but I presume you knew that already?" she said smiling slightly as the eyes behind the glasses had glinted merrily.

"Yes Nymphadora had informed me of her intentions." Dumbledore said as he watched Hermione place her cloak around her. "Now I suggest that you hasten to the Gryffindor common room, Harry will be arriving soon and you wouldn't want to deprive him of the opportunity to tell you about the events that unfolded over the festive period."

Hermione had made to ask Dumbledore what he could have meant, but the look on his face said that he would not want to deprive Harry of the job.

Hermione excused herself, and wound her way back across the grounds, through the blizzard that once again raged.

As she walked past the rubies gleaming in the hourglass, she smiled to herself, would she get the same feeling from the amethysts that glowed in the Ravenclaw hourglass? She smiled at Cho Chang as she passed her on the way back to the Gryffindor common room, they wished each other a happy new year, Hermione didn't like to pass judgment, but she was secretly a lot happier that Harry had started to show interest to someone a little closer to home.

She spotted the familiar scraggy black hair of Harry; Ginny's neatly tied back bunches and the messed up red hair of Ron at the end of the corridor. They stood in front of the Fat Lady.

"They changed the password?" Ron said indignantly.

"Abstinence." Hermione said as she reached them. You know the fat lady has the right idea, I might just abstain from Ron for a while, at least until I do not want to punch him in the face, Hermione thought to herself.

Ron had been smiling at her and had gone to say something; Hermione made a point of turning to Harry and beginning a conversation with him completely blanking Ron. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his face turn from the happy smile to a dark scowl.

"I have stuff to tell you…." Harry said as the screech of "Won-won" invaded their brains.

Hermione made a point of staring at Harry as Lavender and Ron decided to try to make up on lost time over the holidays, rather loudly behind her.

After Ginny had reluctantly left them to go find Dean.( Hermione and Ginny had exchanged pitying looks with each other at this point) Harry and Hermione found chairs as far away from Love's young dream as possible. Harry filled her in on everything that had happened over Christmas, about what had happed at Slughorn's party and about Percy getting a face full of parsnip and spuds. Hermione had listened to Harry and his stupid idea about Malfoy being a Death eater before, she still thought it was as stupid an idea now as she had done when he first suggested it back in august. When the conversation had died and Ginny and most of the other Gryffindor ( their seamed to be less and less of them these days) had gone to bed, Hermione found herself watching Ron again, the painful stabs in her chest seamed to have increased tenfold over the short break from him.

"Don't you think…?"

"Don't ask me again to try and make up with Won-Won…" she grimaced as she looked across the room to where Ron and Lavender were curled up in a chair together. "It's not going to happen."

"You could just…"

"Just what exactly Harry?" Hermione said tearing her eyes away from Ron who had just looked up and right at her.

"I have no idea…"Harry said feebly, "He misses you though." he added after a brief pause.

Lavender started giggling like mad, and Hermione stared down at her hands.

"Whatever you say Harry." she got to her feet and strode past the chair with the traitor and the eye candy in it, she resisted the urge to upend the chair in to the fire.

As she lay down on the scarlet bed sheets, she knew if she let her brain dwell on it, she would cry. She started reciting the ten uses of Dragon blood to herself in her head, blocking out the sound of Lavender as she came to bed a good hour later by remembering how to mix living death.

But no mater what she thought and tried to revise, Ron's face would pass in front of her tightly closed eyes, the way he looked when he had first seen her, the way that he had gone to speak to her as if nothing had changed between them.

If he was playing with her, did he know how hurt she was? Did he know how many tears she had cried alone in the dark?

* * *

**_A/N Thank you for all the constructive criticism, and everyone that pointed out the name spelling mistakes. I honestly hadn't noticed that I had spelt Parvati wrong, when I copied it from the book I obviously copied it in to auto correct wrong, please point out these sorts of thing to me, when I read it back to myself I don't see it, if the spell check identifies it as a proper word it doesn't do the little wiggly line, and with me being dyslexic I often read the wrong word as right ones as I go by Phonetics when I have issues with the words._**

**_I do spell check and Grammar check before I post. This is a case of me really trying to learn everything from the beginning again, I was in the 'special needs ' English class, which was the worst thing anyone could have done, just because I'm dyslexic didn't mean I needed to be put on stuff like 'see spot run ' and taken away from the lessons that I could have received in a normal class, I never had a grammar lesson in my life, everything I have learned has been through reading books and teaching myself._**

**_So when I say I appreciate constructive criticism I really honestly do._**

**_All the love Paula-lou._**

****

**_fic recomendation this chapter ...invisable scars. _**


	7. thankyou for the venom

Potions class had never been one of Hermione's favourite things, but ever since Harry had been taking secretive lessons from inanimate objects, it had dropped drastically in her list of fun things to do.

She couldn't help but get angry at the way Ron would ignore her completely and talk as if she wasn't even at the table. His constant vacant look as both Harry and Hermione refused to help him annoyed her more than anything else.

If he would just leave Lavender for longer than two minutes, Hermione was more than willing to help him with his work, but the entire time he spent in the common room was wasted.

Ginny had actually said as they sat in the library that the fifth years had bets on how long they would be going out before they actually had a conversation.

Hermione was willing to bet the entire content of her savings that that would never happen.

So now when he looked at her over the acidic green concoction in his caldron, she had no sympathy to give him, she added the last of her ingredients to the mix it turned the indigo colour that was described in the textbooks. Ron muttered something inaudible under his breath. Harry elbowed him in the ribs.

Professor Slughorn eyed Ron's potion and shook his head. Passing on to Harry, he smiled at the perfect potion in front of him.

Harry grinned across at Hermione she didn't return the look. She busied herself packing her things. Slughorn hadn't even looked at her potion.

She pushed her way out of the room past the Slytherin's. Malfoy cast her a look as she shoved him out of the way. He looked worse than Hermione had remembered. What had happened over the Christmas holidays? A little voice in the back of her head raised the question was Harry right about him?

She shoved it to the back of her head, she wouldn't think about it. She grabbed a handful of sandwiches from the table in the great hall and headed to the common room.

She passed Neville on the way. He smiled at her, when she didn't smile back, Neville turned and followed her.

"Hermione what's wrong?" he said, his voice sounded so concerned.

"Nothing…I'm fine I just…" but just what was it that was wrong with her? She had thought long and hard about it, was it that Harry was finally beating her in a subject? Was it Ron? Well she knew that he was a vast part of the confusion that had swept her brains in the last few weeks; coming back had been so hard.

"You can talk to me you know." Neville said quietly.

Hermione paused, readjusted her bag and looked at him.

"I know Neville, thank you…but until I get my own head around it well…"

"You need company." Neville said pointing her towards the charms corridor.

Hermione didn't answer she followed him quietly.

In truth she had been spending a lot of time with Neville lately, the few lessons that they still had together, she distracted herself from Ron by talking with Neville about his newfound friendship with Luna. It was nice for Neville to have someone other than the Gryffindor to talk to. Plus Neville wasn't obsessed with the up and coming quidditch match. Harry didn't mean to ignore Hermione as much as he did, but the responsibility of quidditch captain and the extra lessons he was receiving from Dumbledore seamed to be talking up most of his spare time.

After they ate the sandwiches and discussed the essay for charms, Hermione and Neville headed down towards the greenhouses.

Ron was already there with Lavender when they reached the heat of green house five. They were standing below the Venomous tantickulas; Hermione suppressed the urge to curse the stupid thing so the talon like suckers would pierce Lavender. Neville must have guessed this from the look she was casting in Ron's general direction.

"Don't even think it." Neville said pulling her in to the empty seats on the next bench along from the targets.

Harry arrived two seconds before Professor Sprout. He eyed up his options then slid in to the empty chair beside Hermione.

"Where have you been?" she asked him quietly.

"Talking with Ginny." Harry said casually but Hermione saw the tell tale flash in his eyes, he used to get the same look when he saw Cho.

Professor Sprout called them to order and around a large green plant that looked as if it was covered in small pumpkins.

After Hermione let out a small gasp, Professor Sprout nodded in her direction. "Would you care to inform the class?"

Hermione nodded.

"That's a Felimento Increcion." Hermione said smiling.

"And Mr Longbottom what does this plant do…."

"It's the main ingredient in Amortentia, but it can be lethal if digested in the pure form."

Professor Sprout smiled at the two of them. "Well done couldn't have answered better myself, now this plant is one of the most dangerous we will look at this year, the aroma that is given off by some of the pods could induce the affects of a love potion, this is why I insist you were your masks at all times." Professor Sprout started handing out what looked like surgical masks. Hermione couldn't help but laugh as Ron was handed the bright pink mask, he glowered at her and she stopped. She hated the control that he had over her, it was as if she had no way of stopping his grip on her, there life's were running along two completely different tracks but the tracks crossed paths in so many directions it was impossible for them to stay away from each other.

Hermione tried to keep her mind on the job at hand but Ron was stood right behind her, every time he moved in the cramped confines of the green house he would touch her, it made trying to keep hold of the wriggling pods extremely difficult, Hermione had already dropped several in the process of moving them in to bigger pots.

Harry was watching her out of the corner of his eye; Hermione saw him and started writing down notes on a scrap of paper. She wasn't acting like herself and she knew it was showing.

After filling the paper full of random facts, she looked at the remaining pods that were yet to be placed in the larger pot.

Somewhere up in the castle the bell rang, around her everyone started to pack away. Where had the hour gone? She hadn't even removed half of the pods or answered the questions that had been asked at the beginning of the lesson.

"Weasley, Granger…" Professor Sprout came at the two of them, Hermione looked around at Ron's table, and his pod's too stood in their original pots almost untouched bar a few broken redundant ones around the table.

The rest of the class left.

"No point waiting for them Mr Potter…" Professor Sprout said as Harry came to a stop outside the greenhouse. Shrugging Harry followed Neville and Dean up to the castle to make the most of the free periods.

"Right you two, why haven't you done any work at all this lesson, I expect better of the both of you."

Hermione stared down at her feet; beside her Ron tried in vain to hide the now dead Pods on the floor.

"I expect better from you Hermione…after such a good start to the lesson. Well it's unacceptable. You will both stay behind and clean out the used pots, without magic before you finish your own pods. Understand me?"

"Yes Professor." said Ron quietly from beside Hermione; she never raised her head from looking at the dirt on her shoes.

Professor Sprout turned and followed the others out in to the sunlit grounds.

What had gotten in to her? Why was she being punished? She looked up and glared at the back of Ron's head, he had turned away and back to his table.

"This is all your fault." he muttered from beneath his pink mask.

Hermione glared even harder at the back of his head. "How do you figure that?"

"If you had done your work she wouldn't have noticed that I couldn't do the stupid pods." he said shaking his hair out of his eyes.

Hermione started collecting the pots from the tables and putting them in the large sink by the back of the greenhouse.

"You're impossible." Hermione said from beneath her blue mask. "It's never your fault is it?" she said looking over her shoulder at the Ron who had followed her carrying the pots from his table.

"Never." he said tipping the pot's up and sending the forgotten seeds all over the counter top. Upon hitting the old splintered wood, the pods burst showering them in liquid.

"As ever your dumbness outweighs everything else." Hermione spat as she wiped the liquid from her robes.

Ron looked down at the blue-green liquid on his own robes and copying Hermione, he wiped his robes.

"That's probably bad right? I mean isn't this stuff supposed to be dangerous?" he said wiping a large dollop of it from his cheek.

"The stuff it's self isn't it's more a case of the stupid stuff you do under the influence of the aroma." Hermione said looking away from Ron. He was looking at her as if he didn't believe a word she had said.

Hermione knew that the affects would kick in any second now; she had read up on the side affects of the 'love potion' that Slughorn had shown them in the first potion lesson of the year. What would she do if Ron suddenly started throwing himself at her declaring his undying love? She knew it would only be the potion speaking. She felt sick, she wanted nothing more than to turn around and confront Ron about everything, but she knew now would not be the best time.

"I recon it's a duff batch." said Ron poking the liquid with an index finger.

"How can it be it came straight from the plant." Hermione said quietly wiping up the mess with a cloth.

"Well then shouldn't I be feeling weird or something?" he asked her, he watched her as he leant on the sink.

"You don't feel anything?" Hermione found herself asking.

"Nah, I feel a little bit reckless but other than that…listen Hermione I…" Hermione dropped the pot she was holding. It shattered.

"Way to go Hermione…get us detention as well why don't you?" barked Ron as he pulled out his wand and repaired the broken shards.

Hermione looked around at him. He had taken hold of her hand and was looking at it.

"You didn't hurt yourself did you?" he said turning her hand in his. Hermione looked at him, was it him or the side affects talking?

"No I'm fine ." she pulled her hand away from him.

"Do you really hate me that much?" Ron asked looking her in the eye.

"Don't go pretending you're my friend Ron." she said looking down at her hand. The liquid was covering it but there was no opening or cuts for it to penetrate.

She looked back up at him, well the bit of him she could see between the mask and the hair that fell in to his face. Her insides were turning; it hurt to think of the friendship they used to have. The pain wanted more; she knew this wasn't the plants venom that made her feel this way.

She had been feeling like this for so long now it was a permanent fixture in her daily routine the pain she felt whenever she saw Ron.

"What happened to us Hermione?" Ron asked her, she continued to look at him.

"What happened to us? We've had this conversation Ron." she said filling the sink with water.

Ron reached up and took off his mask. He put it on the desk behind him.

Hermione looked at him curiously.

"If that stuff was going to kick in, it would have done by now right? And it's only you and me here…what's the worst that could happen?"

Hermione looked down at the water, she could think of many things that she would like to happen, but not like this, not here.

"Hermione…come on I hate us not talking. Please just say something."

Hermione looked at him as he joined her at the sink again.

"Something."

The corners of his mouth twitched. "Oh very funny."

Hermione relaxed a little as Ron helped her wash the pots. The two of them said nothing to each other, Hermione was aware that this was the most comfortable she had been in Ron's presence in a long time.

She reached up and took her mask off.

"Brave….now don't go throwing yourself at me… I mean that's what this stuff supposed to do right?" he said quietly to her.

Hermione cast a side ways glance at him. His blue eyes met hers for a split second. Her stomach lurched again.

Hermione smiled to herself and placed the last of the pots on the draining board.

"Ronald Weasley not every woman in this world wants to throw themselves at you." Hermione said drying her hands on a towel and handing it to Ron.

"I'm joking Hermione….you remember how jokes work right?"

Hermione walked across to her desk and made to finish her potting; Ron picked up his trays and moved them to the desk beside her.

Outside night had begun creping across the grounds before Ron and Hermione had finished their re-planting.

Hermione felt the most content that she had in a long time, she had missed Ron, and even though she was sure that, the niceness he was showing her was just the side affects of the potion. She was secretly a little upset that even under the spell of a powerful hallucinogen like that had sprayed the two of them he still didn't find her desirable.

Ron's hand brushed hers as they put the newly potted plants on the table with the rest of the classes.

They both looked at each other, Ron smiled at her.

"Thanks for the Christmas present by the way." he said quietly.

Hermione looked away. "I don't know what you mean."

"Hermione I recognised your handwriting, well eventually…." she looked up Ron had gone red in the cheeks.

"Ron, come on Quidditch practice in ten…" the two of them turned around Dean and Ginny stood in the doorway.

"What? How late is it?" Ron looked down at his watch.

Hermione sighed, again just as things looked like they were going her way.

She watched at Ron left with the other two. He cast her one look over his shoulder as he went.

Hermione walked quietly back up to the castle passing Lavender on the way, her mind was too disconnected to register the comments that her classmate threw at her. It was probably for the best.

As she sank down in to the chair next to the fire in the common room, Neville came to join her books in hand. Hermione smiled at him and took the top book off him.

They sat there in silence as they red the books on the plant that they had studied only this afternoon.

Neville was almost finished his, however Hermione was having trouble getting past page twelve. Side effects.

In particular the very last line.

"The afore mentioned affects are made redundant if the subject/ or subjects that the venom touches are already in the predisposition of love or are blood relatives."

Hermione was having great trouble with that sentence; she had read it over seventy two times, trying it on for size.

She couldn't help smiling.

Ron was most certainly not a blood relative


	8. common mistakes

Hermione scowled at the back of Ron's head as they tried desperately to get the three D's to work; this whole apperation thing was something Hermione didn't like the idea of the more she got to know about it.

It was basic time and space laws thrown out the window. If you had told her about this before she found out she was a witch she would have told you that you were delusional you can't mess with the basic principles of space and time. However, a time turner and way too many dices with death had taught Hermione a valuable lesson, rules were there to be broken, and if not broken twisted enough to make them appear to be foolish.

Hermione's mind was racing anyway she had just had a run in with Ron on the stairs; things had become drastically awkward between them. Lavender wouldn't shut up about Valentines Day. (Much to everyone's amusement) and Ron had taken to being quiet and secretive with everyone but Harry.

It had all started the Saturday after the 'experience' in the green house. Hermione had decided that she would stay in the common room to do her potion's essay. After all it was warmer the fire was nearer, and it was peaceful due to most of the students taking the opportunity to utilise the great hall.

She had taken up the large armchair near the fire and settled herself with a role of parchment, the potions books she had gotten in the library were strewn around the floor by her feet. The room was empty apart from Neville who was busy with his extra work for charms, Ginny and Dean who were sat in the corner talking quidditch. A few first years sat on the large rug next to Hermione, they were playing chess quietly having now learned the lesson for making noise.

Hermione had nearly reached the end of her first role of parchment when the familiar scent had wafted her way. Ron was back from quidditch practice. Unlike Dean and Ginny who had returned promptly from practice, Ron would hang around with Harry after, they discussed tactics and how the team was working well. The big game of the season was just after Ron's birthday, Hermione could tell he was nervous but after the way Harry tricked him, last match Hermione wasn't surprised. She watched him as he walked across the room. He shot a glance at her as he drew near to the fire. She couldn't help herself she smiled at him. The corner of his mouth had twitched before he snapped his head forward again and headed up the stairs.

She watched the empty stair well for some time, Ron soon came back now without his mud soaked quidditch robes, he had changed in to a jumper and jeans, he was carrying his homework.

Hermione tried to hide the smirk as he sank down in to the table across from her. He looked at her for a moment.

"Don't look at me like that! It needs doing!" he said laying his Herbology books out in front of him.

"But it's Saturday are you ill?" Hermione asked him, it was fun to tease him like this.

"No I just fell behind…"

"Maybe if you came up for air occasionally." said Neville sarcastically over the top of his books.

"That's not funny." said Ron going red.

"Actually it is." said Hermione turning back to the second page of her essay.

Ron said nothing but glared at her as he propped his book up against his bag.

He turned the pages in his book violently. Hermione tried to concentrate on her essay but it was difficult she hadn't counted on Ron joining them in study, would he work out the same thing that she had upon reading about the plant they had studied in the heat of greenhouse five?

Ron sat quietly reading the book. His hands under his chin, his hair again back to it's untidy mop, it fell in to his left eye as he shoved it to one side to get a better look at the page. Hermione knew she shouldn't sit here watching him like this but it was uncontrollable.

She scalded her self and looked back at the parchment trying to centre her mind on the task at hand. It was becoming more and more difficult as Ron was now repeating the side effects under his breath as he wrote them down on his parchment for Professor Sprout. Hermione looked up as he read the last side effect. Would he read the note the author had made about the reasons for failed affect? Hermione saw him skim the words on the bottom of the page. He paused his quill half way to the parchment before looking back at the book.

His eyes snapped up and at Hermione.

She could feel the burning in her chest. The happiness she had felt on reading that sentence was suddenly rushing away from her.

Ron seamed to be studying her. They both knew that he knew what that sentence meant. Hermione swallowed down the lump and returned to her potion. She could feel Ron's eyes burying in to her.

After fifteen minutes of staring at a blank sheet of parchment Hermione had packed up and returned to her room, Ron watching her every step of the way.

She had avoided prefect duties with Ron since, the niceties of the few nights between the green house and the Saturday, had disappeared as fast as they had arrived. Much to the confusion of Harry who couldn't understand how his two best friends were back at each others throats after a brief calm.

Ron would only talk to Harry and Lavender, although Hermione had found him staring absentmindedly at her during the last potions lesson.

But Hermione had , had bigger things to think about since Harry had asked her about horcruxes she had been trying in vain to find things in the library, she knew there had to be something somewhere that could be of some use. The library had never failed her before and if it did this time, it was just another in a long line of events that were destroying her world and sending her in to her own personal hell.

It was on her way from the library that Hermione had ran in to Ron. Both on the way to the Great hall. Ron was by himself however, Lavender and Harry were no where to be seen.

He stopped and looked at her. The look of curiosity on his face at the large book under her arm.

"Helping Harry." she said trying to shove the book in her bag. Ron scoffed.

"What?"

"You think you know everything right?" he said walking past her.

"No I don't." she said after him, she was used to this this was Ron on the defensive.

"If you didn't have your books what would you do?" he asked stopping suddenly.

Hermione walked in to the back of him her mind still fixed on putting her book in her bag.

"I have no idea Ron." she said backing away from him. " But I don't have to worry about that."

"Stupid bloody books." Ron muttered under his breath as they crossed the entrance hall.

"What's wrong ?_ Read something you didn't like lately_? Or did you like it? Is that the problem?" she snapped.

Hermione marched past him, threw her bag down in the pile next to the door and took up her hoop next to Dean. She hadn't waited for the answer. Ron stalked back past her and took the hoop in front. He looked over his shoulder at Hermione.

She glared at him. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Weasley ….Granger …you can do that on your own time…pay attention." Snape snarled at them as he walked past. Dean laughed almost inaudibly beside her. She turned to look and saw Lavender glaring at her from Dean's other side.

"I'm watching you." she mouthed behind Dean's back.

* * *

**_A/N sorry for the lack of updates for while it was half term and all my friends were online and well you know how things are...i was to hyper to write properly. not even fluff would have been good ...so i took some time awaybut i'm back now ...for a bit at least my boyfriend is on holiday next week so ther emay be no updates next week but i'll try an make up for it this week. love ya all thanks for the reviews and happy halloween for yesterday! paula-lou_**


	9. Moaning Malfoy

Valentines Day was a nightmare. Hermione had been forced to put up with Lavender from start to finish.

Ron had been avoiding both girls all day, choosing to practice quidditch with the team over spending a romantic evening with Lavender.

Lavender of course blamed this on Hermione who had taken up spending all her free time in the library with no one but the books that Ron hated so much for company. Lavender had hunted her down and shouted at her, saying that Ron (who had now not been speaking to her for nearly three months) was doing it because she made him.

Hermione hadn't been that happy about being thrown out of the library. She had sworn loudly at the drapes around her bed after she put a silencing charm on it.

Other than that, life had been quite boring, no one they knew had been in the papers, Harry was still going on about Malfoy being a death eater, and the homework that was building up in the run up to the end of year exams had already began poring in.

Prefect duty had become a welcome break from everything else.

The occasional insult exchange with Malfoy was a welcome reassurance that some things will always stay the same.

Hermione stopped at the end of the second floor corridor. She had heard a noise up ahead and it wasn't anyone she could see. The classrooms were all locked on this floor, Moaning Myrtle had made sure that the water caused so much damage that the classrooms were full of damp and dangerous creatures liked the damp. Kappa's, Higglypunks….Professor Snape.

Hermione advanced on the toilets carefully. It was just as well, for as she reached out to take hold of the door it flew open.

The white blond hair of Draco Malfoy was unmistakable, especially at this close proximity.

"Mudblood Granger." he said looking at her.

"What are you doing in a girl's bathroom?" she asked him. Noticing how strained he looked.

"What has it got to do with you?" he snapped back. His blond hair falling from the sweptback style he always wore it. Hermione couldn't help but notice how much he had begun to look like his father.

"It's just that that bathroom is out of bounds. You know what with it being a girl's bathroom and home to Myrtle."

Malfoy looked back over his shoulder. Myrtle was floating above the sink Hermione knew to be the entrance of the chamber of secrets. Two and two fell in to place.

"Your dad's little side project is dead, Harry killed it…"

Malfoy looked back at Hermione; his fixed scowl fell from his face. He looked almost worried

"That Basilisk is no good to me…"

"So why are you here?" Hermione wasn't used to Malfoy like this, she almost felt sorry for him.

"I …. What has it got to do with you, filthy mud blood?" he said glaring at her.

"Draco…don't say things like that." said Myrtle, floating over to the two students talking in the doorway.

"Ok… now I'm confused, since when have you been on first name terms with Moaning Myrtle?" Hermione knew it was the wrong thing to say.

If Myrtles undignified howls didn't bring at least seven professors running she would be highly surprised.

Malfoy seamed to have the same idea and the two of them ran down the corridor a tirade of water following them.

"Did you have to set her off like that?" Malfoy rounded on the now wet Hermione.

"Oh she'll get over it…you however never answered my questions."

"I'm a prefect Granger. I can go wherever I want." he said glaring at her, even his glower seamed weak.

"Fine be like that." she said turning and stalking away.

"Granger…." he shouted after her.

She glared at the stonework as she stopped despite her better judgment; she fingered her wand just in case.

"What?" she said turning to face him.

He looked like he really wanted to tell her something, he however bit his lip instead, and he turned and stalked off in the direction of the dungeons.

"What is it with the men in this castle!" she screamed through gritted teeth.

She had got as far as the corner of the charms corridor before she ran in to anyone else.

She turned the corner and crashed in to Ron.

"I was looking for you." he said quietly as he helped her up off the floor. His hand felt warm wrapped against hers and she was just the tiniest bit disappointed when his hand slipped from her grasp when she was safely on her feet.

"You were looking for me?"

"I just ran I to Malfoy in the Hall …Hermione why are the two of you both soaking wet?" he said taking out his wand and pointing it at Hermione, her clothes began to dry instantly and she felt warmer.

"Myrtle decided to flush us out of the girl's bathroom." Hermione said as the two of them started walking back along the corridor.

"What in the name of Merlin, were you and the incredible bouncing ferret doing in the girl's bathroom together?" said Ron looking at her as if she had gone mad.

"I wasn't in the bathroom with him Ron; I caught him sneaking out of there…"

"What was Malfoy doing in the girl's bathroom?"

"That's what I wanted to know." Hermione said.

"So you thought that you would confront him yourself? That's a stupid thing to do isn't it?" Ron said stopping at the top of the grand staircase.

"Not really, have you seen him lately? He doesn't look like he could handle a duel." Hermione jumped the trick step and Ron followed her, they made their way up the ancient runes corridor.

"Still you and Malfoy alone together…"

"What do you care?" Hermione said quietly she had noticed the way that Ron had said the last sentence.

"I care because it's you, and I don't trust Malfoy I mean what if he tried it on with you," Ron said indignantly.

"Ron, I'm muggle born, like Malfoy would even think it!"

"Hermione…" Ron cut himself off.

"That is the stupidest thing that I ever heard you say…really do you honestly think that Malfoy would find me attractive?"

"Well he's a fool if he doesn't." Ron said suddenly.

They both stopped and looked at each other. Hermione couldn't take it anymore.

"Ron you have to stop this, you can't keep messing with my head like this…"

"Like what?"

"Don't play stupid with me…you know exactly what." she glared at him something that was becoming increasingly harder to do with every second.

Hermione needed to get out of the situation, she tried to think of ways to get away from him but her mind would not co-operate. Confrontations with Ron were nothing new, but this sort of confrontation was, the petty squabbles that they had at the age of twelve, wavered in comparison to the full-scale fall out that could happen between two of age wizards.

This wasn't the little boy that Hermione had known; this was a seventeen in two days, man, and tall handsome, capable of controlling every thought that crossed her mind. The blue eyes that haunted her constantly because she knew they would never belong to her, Ron would never be hers and she was stupid to think it.

She turned to walk away but Ron put out an arm to stop her. She looked down at the maroon wool; again, he was dictating her thoughts, her actions.

"Hermione I think we should be honest with each other." he said quietly moving her so she faced him.

She stared at his chest; she didn't want to look at his face she didn't want to see the look of disgust etched on them.

"Hermione, I know why were really not talking, I'm sorry if I hurt you with Lavender, but like you said it was my choice." he said quietly.

Hermione didn't want to hear it; she didn't need to hear him tell her how stupid she was for loving him the way she did. She didn't want to hear him tell her that he had thought it through and that they should just be friends, she couldn't just be friends. The raging burning hurt wouldn't let her.

It was all or nothing.

"Hermione your not even listening to me are you?" Ron had moved his hand from her side and placed it on her chin he lifted her face so he could see her.

"No." she aid honestly.

"I said, I know, you know, I know about that venom." he said quietly, even in the dim light from the torches in the brackets Hermione had seen the blush that crept to his cheeks.

"That was as clear as mud." she said

"Hermione I fancy you ok….that's why the stupid love potion affects didn't bloody work….it doesn't take a know it all like you to work that out!"

Hermione didn't know what to say, she stared at him in disbelief. Had he just said what she thought he did? It wasn't just her mind twisting things to make it sound the ways she wanted it to was it?

"Hermione say something will you? You're freaking me out…" Ron looked at her his face was full of the confusion that Hermione was felling. "Hermione seriously if you want you can slap me …just please do something, you look like you've been petrified, it's not something I want reminding of."

Hermione shook her head, the strange fog that had been clouding her brain seamed to lift.

"Ron…I… I don't want to slap you…you're not the only one the venom had no affect on remember?"

Ron blushed so hard Hermione could have sworn that he burst a blood vestal.

"No… I noticed I was... well I dunno, I was going to say something then, but you know, well… I didn't want you to think that it was the stupid plant making me say things." he mumbled under his breath.

The two of them looked at each other for a while, even now that the secret that the two of them had been hiding for so long was out in the open the awkwardness was increased tenfold. Hermione was trying to struggle with the overpowering emotion that was swelling through her, Ron wanted her but she still couldn't have him, he had Lavender.

Hermione removed Ron's hand from her chin. She held it in front of her face for some time, weighing up her options. Ron was watching her quietly.

"You can call me an idiot if you want." he said quietly.

"You're not an idiot." she said quietly letting go of his hand. It fell to his side limply. He stared at her.

"It's not made anything easier has it?" it was statement rather than a question. Hermione shook her head.

"Can I ask you something?" she said looking him in the eye.

"Anything!" he said trying to smile although his eyes gave him away. He was as confused as she was.

She could see it in his eyes, he knew what he had to do for them to be together, and he knew that the choices were now his. There was no way for Hermione to do anything more.

"Can I have my best friend back?" she asked him quietly.

Ron pulled her in to a bone-breaking hug, Hermione melted in to his grip. She needed him in her life, she couldn't just throw his friendship away, there was no way that she could live without him, and he was everything to her. She breathed in Ron , that burrow scent that followed the Weasley's around met her nostrils, the dirt from quidditch that smelt like the dew outside, the smell of old parchment and ink and of sausages. Hermione griped on to him as if her life depended on it. Maybe it did, Ron was her lifeline, with out him she was nothing, had the last few months not proven that.

Ron's face was buried in to her neck; she could feel his breath on her skin.

She knew right then that the two of them could never be just friends, they would always be more than that, she needed him, she loved him and he would never know how much. They would always be in that awkward place forever. She buried her head in to Ron's neck to suppress the sob that had tried to escape; she had missed Ron so much. It was as if every inch of her needed to show him that.

Ron's hand found its way to her still wet hair and pulled it to one side away from his face. She felt the stubble of his cheek on her neck; it made her pull away from him slightly. She hadn't been expecting it.

"Sorry." he whispered in to her ear. A shiver ran up her spine. She twisted her head so she could look at him. His head rested on her shoulder, she was breathing in the air that escaped from him. She had never been this close to him, this close his eyes were bluer, his freckles browner and the urge to cross that line even more difficult to fight off.

Nevertheless, she had to fight it off; they couldn't do anything about it …

Ron moved slightly, his hand was still tangled in her hair, his other hand in the middle of her back. Suddenly he put pressure on the hand placed on her back and she moved closer to him. Her nose grazed his. She caught a glimpse of hope in his eyes before he closed them and placed his lips gently against hers.

Hermione hadn't been expecting it, but she welcomed the warmth, kissing him back gently. Crossing that line that meant nothing would be the same again.

On feeling Hermione kiss him, back Ron had pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Hermione had never felt anything like this before, she was blissfully happy, she felt like nothing could harm her as long as Ron was here kissing her showing her how much she really meant to him. However, she knew that she shouldn't be doing this, it was wrong….this was Ron, and Ron was with…

"Lavender…." Hermione said pulling away from Ron. She breathed deeply trying to regain her composure, but it was difficult, she wanted more, she wanted Ron, and she needed to feel that rush that she had just partaken in.

She looked at him. He looked dejected. He thought that she didn't want him.

That was as far from the truth as it was humanly possible.

"Ron…Lavender, you have a girlfriend…this is wrong."

Ron looked down at his hands.

"It didn't feel wrong." he said quietly.

"But it is…"

Ron looked up and straight in her eye.

"Then I need to get rid of Lavender then don't I." he moved towards her scooping her hands in his own. "Hermione…" he started but she cut him off.

"Save it for when your single and we're aloud to be together." she said quietly.

"But..." Hermione shook her head, Ron grabbed her and pulled her close to him, he went to kiss her again but he met Hermione's hand instead.

"Not until you act like a man and get rid of Lavender." she said pushing him away against every instinct that had ever been in her possession.

She turned and walked towards the stairs, Ron didn't follow.

As she sunk in to the four-poster bed she couldn't hide the smile that was on her face, Ron had kissed her, and he had meant it. Boy had he meant it, she had never felt like that before, Ron had been in possession of everything, her thoughts her body her actions.

Everything that she had known were his but was too weak to tell him.

If it was lust, she could live with it.

Lust and Ronald Weasley … it was definitely something she could get used to.

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**_before you ask it's not the end...we all know that if it was i would have robbed myself the fun of the eventual bust up with lav lav_**


	10. verbal spells

disclamer: don't own harry potter ...probably just as well my boyfriend already feels left out lol( the libabary setting is taken from a difrent fan fic i cant think whitch one of the top of my head but it was a ron/herm one and they werent studying lol i'll giev you creadit in the next chapter promisssssss)

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Hermione stared at the blank piece of parchment in front of her, the potions essay that she was meant to be doing for Slughorn was the last thing on her mind. The ink remained on in the bottle the only stains on the paper coming in the forms of wet patches from the tears that slid silently down the sore swollen cheeks of a face that would never smile again.

Hermione hated him, hated him with every ounce of her being.

She had locked herself away from the outside world, in her favourite side of the library study hall, surrounded by the things she loved so dearly, her stupid books. Well they had kept Ron away for so long before; there was no excuse for it not working now.

However, the words wouldn't come to her the sentences wouldn't form in her head; it was as if an invisible barrier was blocking the thoughts of potions and lessons from her.

All she could see was red.

Opening the homework diary the birthday card she had for him caught her eye, she ignited it quietly and watched as the blue flame danced until the card was no more.

They were over finished, she was foolish to think that one kiss could change the way he felt about her. He was a liar and a fraud. But if he was, why was she hurting so much. Why did she really truly believe her heart when it said that he was just a fool?

Had se really expected him to walk up to Lavender and say 'look lav lav, I'm secretly in love with Hermione sorry bout this you're dumped'? Ron wasn't like that, Ron was raised well he may be awkward and clumsy but he would never openly hurt someone like that.

Well unless it was Hermione. He didn't seam to care if she was hurt. She felt used.

He had used her and in the worst possible way. She couldn't love him any more she would have to try to keep her mind off the subject of Ron.

But it was increasingly difficult. The constant reminders of him followed her around.

"Hermione?"

She could even hear his voice.

"Hermione I know your behind the books, come on talk to me." she felt the table shake as he sat down on the seat at the other side.

She placed her large potions book on top of her already large wall of books, making sure books on all sides surrounded her.

"Hermione please speak to me." his voice rang around the quiet study hall, no one would be here this late on, Hermione hadn't checked but she knew that no one but her would ever dream of sitting in the library till this late on a Friday night.

"Hermione we need to talk."

Hermione stared at the spine of 'Muggle Magic a modern guide to all things muggle by E.Leck and T. Risty. She glared so hard she swore she saw the book fighting back.

He didn't get it did he.

The way he treated her last night, she had waited for so long to share that with him, she had felt sure that he felt the same way, yet this morning…

She watched as Ron followed Lavender out of the portrait hole, his hand automatically slipped in to hers, she smiled at him and they headed down to breakfast. Hermione had followed behind her head fogged; she ignored the words that Harry said to her unable to think of anything but the hurt that was boiling inside of her, breaking every blood vessel as it hit it. He had lied to her.

Or was this her fault?

She was the one that told him he had to make the decision.

Had she lost out because she wasn't willing to play dirty to keep him?

Was last night all she would get? Had her mind and heart been playing tricks on her, fooling her in to thinking that there was more to this life then the friendship she had with Ron.

She had watched them through charms, Ron whispering to Harry. Exchanging looks with Lavender across the room.

She had caught his eye for only a second but it was enough. The look of regret was evident, he had made a mistake and now he was too cowardly to face up to it.

Hermione asked to be excused from the class, something so out of character that Professor Flitwick actually sent her straight to the hospital wing with accompaniment from Dean who looked just as worried as the tiny professor had done.

"Hermione are you really ok?" Dean asked as they made there way back to the common room, a small bottle of headache potion in Hermione's hand.

"Honest answer is no, but I don't want to talk about it Dean."

"Are you sure?" he asked as the two of them climbed through the portrait hole dean helping her as she climbed through.

"Honest Dean, I'm fine, go find Ginny I can look after myself."

Hermione immediately wished she hadn't sent Dean away when Lavender and Ron followed her in to the common room a short while later.

She watched as the two of them sank in to the sofa in front of the fire blissfully oblivious to the fact that Hermione was even there.

She quietly got up and gathered her books and headed to the library, she knew Ron had spotted her as she had left but didn't turn. She didn't want to se that look of regret in his eyes again. Ron was evidently a one-woman man and that one woman wasn't Hermione, she would live with that.

But it was hard to live with it when the person that you want to block out of your life is trying to break down the fortress that you build for yourself.

"Ron leave me alone." she said as a small hole appeared in the pile of books.

Blue eyes sort out hers through the gap.

"Hermione please let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain Ron, go away."

"Yes there is now I'm going to whether you listen or not is up to you."

Hermione took a new book and filled up the hole that Ron had created.

A disgruntled sigh from the other side showed that Hermione's actions had had the desired effect.

"You lied to me Ron, I can't stand to look at you, thought that I knew you but obviously I don't. What else is there to say?"

She watched as the pile of books slowly became smaller. Until Ron could see her over the top.

He had stacked them neatly on the table behind him, in this small corner of the room they wouldn't be seen wouldn't be heard, it was a fortress inside a fortress. She had built her walls of books within shelves of books. Yet Ron had known exactly where to look.

"Hermione I meant every last word I said last night." he said sitting on the desk and looking down at her. The guilty look swept across his face again.

"Did you get me confused with Lavender?" she said packing her things in to her bag.

"No Hermione, how could I ever get you confused with Lavender?"

Hermione got up holding on to her bag as if it was the last piece of her soul, she stormed past Ron knocking over the neatly piled up books, they fell on Ron with a crash.

"Hermione, wait up." he shouted following her down the deserted rows of books.

"Go away Ron, I hate you….get it H A T E hate you." she flung her bag over her shoulder and marched past the restricted section.

"I'm trying my best; do you know how hard it is to get rid of Lavender?"

She stopped and turned to look at him.

"No Ron , but I know how much it hurts for me to have to watch you do what you do with her in front of me." she glared. "You're an insensitive git."

"I can't help it." he said seeking out her gaze in the candlelight.

"Well you should start helping it. I hate you Ron, do you know how much that hurts me?"

Ron looked at her and she felt the burning sensation starting behind her eyes again.

"You don't hate me." he said stepping towards her. "I couldn't ever hate you." he said quietly wiping the tear from her cheek.

"Yeah well …" she said pulling away.

"Hermione, don't hate me."

"I think it's best if we avoid each other, I'll only wish you hurt, and I'll hate myself for it."

Ron stared at the floor.

"I wish I could just crawl up under a rock and die," he said quietly. "Why do things have to be so complicated?"

Hermione tried to bite down the retort but it came out anyway.

"I'll find you a rock.," she snapped.

"You wish I was dead?" he asked her, his eyes again meeting hers across the green light the radiated from the restricted section.

Hermione didn't know what to say. She broke the gaze and headed out of the library, Ron was still following her.

Why wouldn't he leave her alone? Why couldn't he just move on? At least he had Lavender. Hermione was alone. Harry had bigger tings to worry about.

"Hermione…"

"Ron just leave me alone please." she pleaded as they jumped the trick step.

"I can't, you know I can't, I told you why and you throw it back in my face."

Hermione stopped.

"I throw it back in your face?" she repeated slowly. "I'm not the one snogging Lavender still, I'm not the one breaking your heart every second," her voice was getting louder with every syllable the paintings on the stairs were beginning to look. "We'll I've had enough Ron, I've had it up to here playing your stupid game, I quit. I'm throwing in the chess pieces, I don't want to be the loser again, don't even speak to me. In fact, pretend I don't exist. Enjoy your birthday, I'm sure Lavender will have bought you something nice." she glared at him; to his credit he hadn't answered back he just looked at her growing redder in the face by the second. She went to push past him and go to the common room but he stepped in front of her.

He looked past her and at the picture that was laughing. He looked as if he was having an internal struggle with himself. He grabbed her by the bag strap and pulled her forward pushing his lips against hers with force. She gave in to him for a split second before pushing him away. He stumbled back and landed on the banister.

"Drop Dead Ronald Weasley." she said turning on the spot and wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

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**_thankyou to everyone wo reviewed, i'm sorry it's taken so long but i've kind of been busy, i went to see my chemical romance and i've been on to much of a bob vibe ever scince( sod gerard mikey and Frank i want the drummer hes a cutie pie)and i've been at work a lot more than usual and im looking for a new house so life is hectic. i do look to updating a lot more oftern but it is gig season and well you know how it is..._**

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**_ok personal reviews if i missed you i'm sorry i only have limeted time on the net and im due at work but i aperciate the reviews honest._**

**_ronslurvergurl123...glad you think it's cute i try_**

**_Matt'sGirl4ever... how dare you go away for over a month lol. glad you still like it._**

**_padfootdaugh...your friend is a genius and you should give her a cookie for pointing you in the right direction... in fact i'll send her a cookie...it might have owl dropings on but you can eat around that right?_**

**_ibkicking...thankyou for reviewing me since you don't do it that oftern.this story is for me to get better at the grammer and stuff but when i start work on my next story ( i have two in the pipe line other that my epic flowers story) i'm more than willing to take a beta so i might take you up on that._**

**_dancerrdw... as always i apreciate your reviews and i promise i havent forgoten my other sorrys i will get back to them i'm just working hard n making them good._**

**_jaydedangel73 ... your pen name is the smae as that of my kitten so i like you even more lol but thanks for the review although sleep is more important( although i never get any)_**

Aprila... i aim to please galad it made you happy and im glad you like the idea of me going back and picking up on thisngs that j/k didnt lol

love-is - everything...thankyou for all the reviews so far, ( i remeber cause you hae such a cool pen name lol.

Slow Suicide...thankyou for putting me in your fav list. i feel the love and im sorry for the lack of upfdate speed recently i realy am but life and stalking bands can mess up anyones sceduel darn my chemical romance lol

Dark wing731- thankyou for the detailed review i took in to consideration what you said and you will find out your answers in the next chapter i promise. i love constructive critasism, and hopfully my grammer and spelling is getting better but some times i dont read the mistake.so i cant corect what i dont read right.

pureangel86 i used to put barbie in the microwave and watch the cow melt lol! red is a bit of a runing theme with my stories lol... its all the hot red headed men out there lol

melissa for my next story i'm getting a beta, this one was for me to chalange myself, i now realisse that i'm going to have to get one becuase i still cant pick out most things. tankyou for the review im glad you like my story

tucksgurl: glad you enjoy it ...and i know blood relitive this isn't starwars thats not your sister this isnt insest lol

**_quidditch 7: i write this stoty to you lol, seriously i know im doing a god job if i get someone doing the happy dance lol... and i hope you liked the bit with the books lol i knw you like visulisation lol._**

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**_ok f i missed you sorrrrrrrrry i'll get you necxt time._**

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	11. follow the spiders

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disclamer: the stuff you recognise is j.k rowlings ...the other crap is mine enjoy...

p.s i should be seeing gof right now but im not grrrrrrr!

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The groggy feeling of sleep was still upon her when the worried voice of Ginny could be herd rushing down the stairs. Hermione so used to having to act fast was on her feet and at the doors before Ginny had hit the bottom of the stairs.

The redheads face was pale and shocked. A girl that Hermione didn't recognise was with her trying to calm her down. Hermione rushed to Ginny's side, what was up what had happened? Was it Mrs and Mr Weasley? Had something happened at the burrow?

"Ginny what's wrong?"

The last thing she had expected was what she heard coming from her friend's mouth it was as if the ground had just opened and swallowed her whole.

"Ron….poisoned…." Ginny said before grabbing Hermione by the hand and pulling her towards the portrait hole.

Hermione felt the colour draining from her face. Silently she broke in to a run alongside Ginny both girls trainers making loud crashes as they jumped many a step in turn on there way to the hospital wing.

Hermione felt sick, she knew this was a nightmare any point soon someone was going to come along and wake her up.

Harry was standing outside the hospital wing when they got there. He was shaking and almost as white as Ginny had been. Ginny ground to a halt in front of him but she seamed to struggle to find words. Hermione joined her a second later.

Harry looked at her, reached out, and hugged both girls.

"Harry what's going on?" Hermione eventually managed. Her voice a great deal stronger than she felt.

He sank down on the faded stonework around the window ledge and ran his hand through his hair. Beside her Ginny moved closer. Hermione instinctively put an arm around the younger girl.

Harry looked up at the two of them; his face was screwed up as if the memory was painful.

"We were in Slughorn's office, he gave Ron a drink. It had something in it. Ron kind of went in to a fit," he paused collecting his thoughts. "He keeled over, he couldn't breath, and Slughorn just looked at him. I found a bezoar shoved it in his mouth…"

"You saved him." said Ginny quietly breaking the silence that had covered the three of them since Harry had trailed his sentence off.

Ginny walked over and threw her arms around Harry. She sobbed quietly on his shoulder.

"Thankyou." She said quietly. Sinking down on to the stonework next to him.

Harry turned and looked at Hermione.

Hermione felt numb. He had nearly died. Ron had nearly died and he could have died knowing the last thing she had said to him is that she hated him and wished he were dead.

She didn't deserve to be here, sharing in the worry with Harry and Ginny. She was an evil person she had wished this upon him and now she could lose him forever.

"How is he?" she said quietly.

"I have no idea. They won't tell me anything." Harry said quietly watching her, a look of concern in his eyes. Hermione was going to ask 'is he going to live?' but Ginny beat her to it. Harry shrugged, but the look in his eyes said that the possibility was there that they might lose him.

Hermione sank to the ground next to the hospital wing door. She drew her legs up to her chest and hugged herself.

She hadn't meant the things she had said, she didn't want him dead, Ron was her everything, without him the castle seamed such a lonely place, no warmth came from people who saw her as only the book worm, the know it all. Ron had been her friend for so long and she had done this to him.

She hated herself; it was as if she had put the poison in to him herself. If he pulled through would he want to be friends with her? Would the way she had pushed him away last night be the last unhappy thought that ran through his head? If Ron died, would he die hating the thought of her?

She felt empty she couldn't cry she had cried so much in the last few days she was sure that she had used all the water in her body.

She watched as a spider crawled along the cracked stone floor.

She replayed last night in her head, over and over.

Ron's bitter sweet kiss, the way he thought that it would make things alright how he wished that the action would change the way she felt, numb the hatred.

She didn't hate him. She was just so infuriated with him.

The numbness in her spread from her heart out over. She just wanted to go in to the wing and see him, she looked up hopefully at the door, maybe in some wishful though that it would open and that he would be there.

She listened to Harry and Ginny talking, the two of them trying to figure out how something like this could happen.

However, Hermione couldn't hear the words, she hadn't looked away from the door in the entire time that she had sat there. How much time had passed was unclear but few people past the hospital wing in the far edges of the castle, word hadn't spread to far. But the castle still felt eerily quite, or maybe that was just Hermione's minds way off shutting down.

Ginny running past her was the first sign of life that Hermione registered; even the constant comings and goings of the teachers had gone unrecognised.

Looking up Hermione saw Ginny tightly embraced in her mothers arms. Mrs Weasley looked close to tears, her husband looked little better, his face strained he looked older than Hermione had ever seen him look, the bags under his eyes looked almost as deep as Remus Lupin's.

She watched as the three Weasley's passed Harry and herself and entered the hospital wing.

Harry watched the door close before crossing over to Hermione and sinking down on the floor next to the quite heap of bedraggled Hermione.

"Are you ok?" he asked her gently.

Hermione stared straight ahead unable to speak, if she did everything would fall out in to the open, everything that she was trying to get straight in her own head would be out for the world to analyze and taint her view.

Until she knew where she stood, Harry would stay in the dark. He didn't need to know about the kiss; Harry didn't need to have the problems of his two best friends on top of his own.

"I will be when I know he's ok." she said quietly. Harry just looked at her observing the way she looked back at him.

Harry wasn't stupid the arguments and the stupid sly comments that had passed between both Hermione and Ron were commonplace for Harry he knew that the two of them no matter how harsh the words that crossed paths were that they were friends deep down. That the two of them cared for each other in ways that Harry would never understand.

Harry simply hugged his friend, it had no effect on Hermione she still felt lost, alone and scared.

She rested her head on Harry's shoulder. Right now, they had to worry about Ron.

The two of them had sat in silence. Watching as Dumbledore walked Mr and Mrs Weasley from the hospital wing, Hermione checked her watch for the first time. It was a little after eight clock.

They had sat there all day. Had it really been that long? Time seamed like such a strange concept at the moment. Ginny appeared at the door and her eyes were swollen, it was evident that she had been crying. She called them forwards and in to the hospital wing.

Ron lay in the middle bed, the only occupant in the empty ward. Hermione fell back as Harry and Ginny took a seat ether side of his bed.

She couldn't approach him, he looked so strange lying there so motionless, the colour drained from his cheeks, he looked so defenceless.

Ginny stood back up and took hold of Hermione who apparently had forgotten how to move, she felt Ginny sit her down in the vacant seat next to her at the top of Ron's bed.

Hermione automatically reached out and took his hand; the sobs she had not been able to muster all day finally broke the surface.

Harry and Ginny said nothing, she had a feeling that they knew that the two of them knew it was a mater of time before she cried.

Ginny stoked her gently on the back trying to comfort Hermione, but what comfort did it give her? What would Hermione give to still have the time turner, to go back to yesterday and make things between her and Ron all right again. To tell him that she wanted to be with him, even if it meant putting up with Lavender a little longer, if it meant that she could have Ron back, a happy healthy Ron that would be with her one day , not now but in the future.

She had been selfish, and now she had nothing but blind hope that when he pulled out of this that he would forgive her for wishing this on him.

Ginny and Harry talked quietly between themselves, Hermione said nothing, what was there to say?

She was scared for Ron.

Hermione was vaguely aware that someone else had joined them, it wasn't until the talk had come around to how Ron had ended up in this state did she realise that it must be someone new in the room.

She looked away from Ron and in to the face of Fred, who was sat next to Harry on the other side of the bed.

"Do you think whoever did it meant the drink to go to Dumbledore?"

Hermione felt herself getting angry.

"Well the poisoner didn't know Slughorn very well," her voice sounded distant and foggy even to her. "Anyone who knew Slughorn would have known there was a good chance he would keep something that tasty for himself."

Hermione felt a tugging on her hand and Ron stirred.

"Er-my-nee," Ron croaked.

Everyone stopped the intense argument that they were embarking on and looked at him.

Hermione urged him to wake up. She needed to say sorry for everything that she had said.

A knife could have cut the silence. And it was in a way, as Hagrid slammed open the door at the far end of the room.

She listened as the conversation turned back to theories, but she never once took her eyes off Ron.

It was begrudgingly that Hermione left the room when Ron's parents returned.

Hagrid's words ringing in her ears.

"Who would ever want to hurt him?"

Hermione's head was ringing. On top of the fact that the person that meant the most to her the world being critical in the hospital wing, Hagrid had heralded news that the school may have to close, the one place Hermione had ever found happiness.

She was still sniffing heavily when she ascended the staircase to her room.

The last person she could be bothered with today was Lavender but she knew it was going to happen eventually, best to get it over and done with.

She opened the room door the room was empty apart from Lavender who was sat, obviously waiting for her return.

"Where have you been?" she snapped as Hermione threw herself down on her bed and looked across at Lavender.

"Hospital wing." Hermione said flicking her eyes back to the scarlet curtains.

"Have you seen Ron?" Lavender asked her. "I need to give him his birthday present.

"Hospital wing." Hermione repeated in a deadpan voice.

Lavender fell silent.

"What's he doing in the hospital wing?" Lavender said accusingly.

"I don't know lavender why don't you figure it out?" Hermione said turning over and pulling the curtains around her with a flick of her wand.

Hermione closed her eyes trying to block out the world.

"The person that was poisoned, it was Ron wasn't it?" Lavender called pulling the curtains back from around Hermione.

"Well done." said Hermione not opening her eyes. She was holding back the tears again.

"Why didn't someone come and get me?" she demanded, her voice cutting through Hermione.

Hermione rolled over and opened her eyes looking at Lavender.

"Because only the people who love him needed to be there." Hermione said swishing her wand again. The curtain flew out Lavenders hand and wrapped itself around the bed again.

"But I'm his girlfriend." she said angrily.

Hermione didn't answer.

She was to busy thinking.

Lavender may be his girlfriend but she's not the one that he called out for.

That was her.

* * *

**_thankyou to all of you who spoted what i did in the last chapter. i thankyou because it shows you pay atention to not only my storys but the cannon...your my kind of people. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_**

**_a quick song before i go_**

**_... dance your final dance...this is your final chance...to hold...the one you love...youll know you've waited long enougth..._**

**_XXXXXXX_**

**_althogh i prefer to do the hypogriff myslef... yo know you wannna shake it like a funnky house elf!_**

**_and now im off to scare alkaline treo..._**


	12. catch me whilest im sleeping

Hermione listened as Lavender left the room, she counted the minutes ticking buy on her watch as it flashed in the moonlight that drifted through the gap in the drapes.

After twenty long minuets, Lavender sneaked quietly, back in to the room followed closely by Parvati, the two of them talking in hushed voices.

"I can't believe that they wouldn't let you in to see him." said Parvati in a low voice.

"I don't believe that they let her see him and not me."

Hermione knew that Lavender was looking at Hermione's bed as she said it.

Hermione didn't care she had been thinking in the time she had been lying in the darkness of the room.

No one had been shocked when Ron had called out for her, not one person around that bed had even questioned why it had been Hermione he had called out to from his subconscious state.

Had they not made out the name in the mumble? On the other hand, was it just a coincidence that he had called out for her after she had spoken?

Whatever way you looked at it, Ron knew her voice so well that even when she did not sound like herself he knew it was her.

That thought, and that thought alone made her survive the constant criticism that she struggled to block out for the next three hours as Lavender and Parvati talked about her forgetting all pretence of keeping their voices intimate, Hermione being able to hear every word.

Finally the exchanges became quieter until Hermione was quiet sure that the two other girls were asleep.

She gently pulled the curtains, moonlight flooded the darkness, and she blinked gently looking out in to the grounds.

In the distance the darkness of the forest was broken up by the moonlight dancing on the upper branches of the trees, they stretched down to the lake that reflected the now cloudless star flecked sky, almost like a giant mirror. The dock was light with the same eerie glow that it had shone with ever since the giant ship had been tethered there in her forth year. She remembered sitting here watching it sway gently in the wind as she had deliberated taking Victor up on his offer. Her eyes followed the flickering lights along the bank and in to the underground entrance.

Hermione knew that the Slytherin's resided in halls built deep beneath the lake, she had often wondered if this was where the fabled halls of many a dark wizard was built. The foundations of the docks lead far under the lake to the south of the castle.

The low moon that reflected in the lower windows of the south towers, lights flickered in the defence against the dark arts corridor. What was Snape doing in his corridors this late at night?

She watched as one by one the lights faded out, window by window.

A light appeared in the courtyard, it reflected on the cobblestones under the large clock, behind that lay the hospital wing, high in the central turret of the castle.

Hermione had often sat at the window and watched the residents of the castle; from here, she could see almost everything about the academic halls of Hogwarts.

From the high windows of the Gryffindor tower, Hermione could see everything that the school meant to her, the Library, the classrooms. She had often noticed that the boy's dormitory looked out over the mountains the forest and the Quidditch pitch. She felt that sometimes the founders paid a little too much attention to detail.

Her eyes had rested upon the light that flickered in the hospital wing. Hermione had often wondered why the founders chose to put the hospital wing where it was, but it was glaringly obvious as she sat here worrying about Ron, staring out over the once impenetrable fortress of the school grounds.

The hospital, much like the great hall would be visible from not only the tall windows of Gryffindor tower in the west, but also the southern ground level windows of Slytherin's dungeons, the Ravenclaw tower to the north and the Hufflepuff chambers to the east.

No matter which house you would always be able to see the heart of the school.

Now as Hermione sat there looking at the light that flickered in the arched window by the bed where she knew Ron lay she knew she would be eternally grateful for the founder's belief in old magic.

She watched as the light that had crossed the courtyard returned accompanied by others.

The Weasley's were evidently heading back to Hogsmead; she hadn't heard Ginny return to bed. Had she gone with her parents and older brothers?

Did that mean that Ron was alone in the hospital wing?

What if Ron woke up when there was no one there?

Hermione felt her feet moving of their own free will, she quietly let herself out of the room and headed down to the common room.

The room was empty.

Now she was there she wasn't sure what she should do now.

In her ideal world, she would go to the hospital wing, but that would involve her breaking about a hundred school rules.

Throwing caution to the wind, she crept quietly up the stairs to the boys dormitories.

She counted of the doors as she past finally stopping outside the top floor dormitories wooden door.

Two rules broken, what's a few more she thought, opening the door a crack.

The curtains were pulled tight around the three beds to her right, Neville's snores floated on the air, the perfect cover for Hermione's carefully timed steps across the old stone floor.

Harry stirred in his sleep the pillow pulled over his head.

Hermione reached his bed and was about to reach in to his open trunk when something that Harry had said to her once found its way to her mind. She turned to Ron's empty bed and gently reached under the mattress.

She felt the silky touch of the thing she was looking for.

Dean snorted in his sleep and Hermione nervously checked to see if it had woken Harry or not.

He stirred knocking the pillow from his head and on to the floor, but he did not wake.

Hermione gently pulled the invisibility cloak out from under the scarlet bed sheets.

She pulled it around her just in time.

Two seconds later Dean snorted again this time Harry did wake. He stared blinking in the dark.

Hermione held her breath.

It wasn't as if Harry would mind her borrowing the cloak, it was more the case that Hermione felt slightly foolish.

How would she explain to Harry that although she hadn't spoken to Ron for months she was willing to risk expulsion to stay by his side?

She was spared the time and effort of thinking of an excuse as Harry rolled back over and fell asleep.

Taking care not to disturb the boys any further, she left the room quietly, avoiding the creaky step by the door.

She made her way silently across the common room, stopping only to pull one of the throws over Ginny who had evidently returned to the tower whilst Hermione had been up in the boy's dorm.

Hermione silently exited the portrait hole, being careful where she walked on her way to the hospital wing, she knew where all the hidden passageways were and where to avoid at this time of night, from the nights spent on prefect duty.

She had a near run in with Peeves who was hovering near the base of Gryffindor tower, evidently trying to get a house elf to climb in to a suit of armour, Hermione would love to scare him but she couldn't afford to get caught out of bed.

She walked across the moonlight entrance hall and across the courtyard to the hospital wing, the reflection on the cobblestone lighting her way.

She pushed open the door to the wing gently. The light in the Matrons room flickered gently, the door ajar.

Hermione quietly whispered 'Muffalo' and proceeded towards the curtained bed where Ron lay.

She slid effortlessly between the curtains and in to the large leather chair at the top of Ron's bed.

She looked down at him he was stirring in his sleep, his head slid from side to side on his pillow.

Hermione reached out gently and stroked his face.

Speaking in a low voice, she whispered "Its ok Ron I'm here."

His head rested against her hand, she sighed.

What was he dreaming? Were they the residual effects if the poison that ran through his veins?

She sat with him waiting for some sort of sign that he knew that she was there. However, nothing happened, apart from the calmness that reflected upon his face at Hermione's hand layered upon his own.

It was calming for Hermione, who for the first time felt tiered.

She pulled the invisibility cloak around her tightly resting her head on the side of Ron's bed.

Five minuets of sleep wouldn't hurt her.

"Hermione?"

She felt herself being shook gently by someone.

She had been having an amazing dream, she and Ron were friends again, and maybe a little more than that. He was kissing her with all the passion that he had kissed her with that first time.

She bit on her bottom lip as she raised her head from her arms. Ron was still lying there peacefully; her hand was still wrapped in tightly with his.

"Does Harry know you have his cloak?" Ginny said quietly taking the cloak that had fallen from Hermione's shoulders and folding it carefully.

Hermione looked at the red head next to her. She shook her head.

"You're lucky it was me that found you and not a teacher, you would have been in so much trouble." Ginny smiled slightly.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Six am." Ginny said apologetically.

"I didn't know you knew what six am looked like?" said Hermione sarcastically.

Ginny shrugged.

"Yeah well the chair in the common room wasn't that comfortable. Even with a blanket. Thanks by the way." said Ginny. Hermione shrugged. "Have you been here all night?"

Hermione looked away and down at Ron.

"I saw your parents leave, then I…"

"She wouldn't let us stay." said Ginny nodding at the Matrons door.

"I figured."

The two girls looked at each other not entirely sure what to say.

"Hermione, be honest with me, I mean we are friends right?" said Ginny playing with the fabric in her hands, if flowed from palm to palm like water.

"Yeah were friends."

"What's going on with you and my brother?" she asked quietly.

Hermione looked down at Ron's hand in her own.  
"He's my friend." Hermione said but she knew how lame it sounded.

"Something's happened between the two of you, something more than this." Ginny said looking at Ron, his head rolled to the side again.

"Maybe it is, but I don't think …"

Hermione looked away.

"What is it Hermione I swear to Merlin I won't tell anyone, I mean you have been acting so strange for the last few days, I mean you went from happy Hermione to manic depressive in less time than it takes Harry to catch a snitch, something must have happened?"

Hermione sighed she couldn't stand keeping it to herself any longer.

"You promise me you won't tell a soul? Not even Harry, in fact Harry should be the last person you tell if you felt like divulging the information." she gave Ginny a warning look.

"Yes of course I promise, you would think I was Fred or something the way you go on."

Hermione stroked Ron's hand with her thumb.

"Ron kissed me, the other night…"

Ginny did an audible squeaking noise.

"But he's with Lavender, its wrong…" Hermione said watching as Ginny beamed at her.

"No it's not, I can't think of anything less wrong ever….well maybe Malfoy and the giant squid."

"But Ginny, I can't be with him."

"Who says? Can I bunk Lavender off? I mean if she fell from Trelawney's tower who's to say it's not because she read it in one of her stupid teacups?"

Hermione laughed gently.

"I suppose you could put it down to… what was it? Very little aura, that would be devastating."

"I can see Rita's headline now, 'Tragic death of girl who saw a grim instead of a sheep'." said Ginny trying to suppress the giggle forming.

"We shouldn't laugh." said Hermione squeezing Ron's hand a little tighter as his grip had just intensified in her own.

"Yes we should, I mean she has to be delusional, I mean who in their right mind would like my brother? Well apart from you, but I blame that on the lack of space left in your brain from all the books you read."

Hermione smiled.

"So what did he do after he….you know?"

Hermione was about to answer when the door opened.

Lavender stood there, Hermione sighed. Ginny shoved the invisibility cloak up her jumper.

"I should have guessed that you would be here." Lavender said walking towards the bed. Hermione pulled her hand from Ron's.

"Yeah well were just going." said Ginny jumping to her feet and squeezing Ron's hand.

Hermione took one last look at Ron before Ginny linked her arm in hers and dragged her out of the ward.

"Ohhhhh Won-Won."

Ginny did a gagging motion casting a disdainful look back over her shoulder.

"Ron won't put up with that much longer." said Ginny looking around at Hermione.

"Want to bet? I mean, how many years have I been telling him what to do? He won't dump her. He's too weak."

Hermione sighed. She would just have to wait this one out.

* * *

_**Again thank you for the reviews they mean the world to me they honestly do.**_

_**Ok I'm thinking two/three more chapters till the end of this story then I'm going to start a new one, this is my question to you… do I do an O/C-trio story that I have been working on, or a Trio post final battle story that I have also been working on? I value your opinion because I cannot decide which to work on first. I definitely can't be running more than two stories on here at once, it would kill me on top of my Good Charlotte fics, so I'll run with whichever gets the most votes by the time I've posted the last chapter of this .**_


	13. dissenchanted lullaby

Hermione and Ginny had spent the day sitting in the apex of the library's north tower. No one in there right mind came up here, well occasionally you could find Neville or Hanna Abbot up here, their heads stuck in advanced Herbology books, but as only they seamed to take a avid interest in the subject, and even Hermione found all she needed in her standard books, the chances of the two girls being disturbed wavered .

The subject of how best to accidentally dispose of Lavender Brown had been high on the list of subjects. So far, apart from her untimely demise from the second highest point of the school had been joined by the possibility of setting Buckbeak on to her, transfiguring her in to a cauldron cake and letting one of Malfoy's cronies eat her and Hermione's favourite force feeding her love potion and making her fall in love with the giant squid.

Not only would it be fun to watch but also Hermione had vague recollection of Lavender telling her that she couldn't swim.

But right now Ginny had gotten to the point where if she didn't find out what was going on from Hermione she was going to storm back up to the hospital wing and slap Ron until he woke up and told her. Hermione could tell Ginny was looking at her with that look of utter determination in her eyes.

"Anyway since we appear to be avoiding the topic," said Ginny grinning slightly as she clamped her eyes on to Hermione. "You were telling me about what happened with you and my little big brother."

Hermione found a passing interest in the healing powers of fanged plants and took the book from the shelf. She flicked the pages absentmindedly thinking as she did so.

"I told you Ginny he kissed me."

"Has he done it more than once?" Ginny asked pulling the book away from Hermione. She grabbed for her safety net pulling it back towards herself.

"I knew it…he kissed you again didn't he?"

Hermione silently nodded her head, but she couldn't help thinking of the last time that Ron had kissed her, the harsh exchange of words the way he told her that what he had said that night in the corridor he had meant every word.

"He kissed me the night before his birthday, we were having an argument," Hermione looked up at Ginny. "I had locked myself away behind my books and he had come looking for me, he had said he was going to get rid of Lavender but that morning he had been all over her…"

"Is that why you walked out of Charms?" Ginny asked putting her hand on top of Hermione's.

"I told him I hated him Ginny, I didn't mean it … he followed me. He knew I didn't mean it, then I said it was best if we avoided each other and he kissed me again but I pushed him away… Ginny I told him to drop dead and the next time I see him he's in a hospital bed." Hermione felt the tears rolling down her face.

Ginny got up and crossed the table taking Hermione in to a hug.

"You didn't poison him it was a coincidence Hermione." Ginny said calmly.

"You don't know that, there are all sorts of magic that we still don't understand…."

"And now you're talking crazy talk… whatever happened to Ron was nothing to do with you, and I very much doubt that he's going to hold it against you."

Hermione fell silent and Ginny pulled out of the hug.

"Look at it this way, both of you have spent the best part of the last six years fighting with each other, but you know what you both are always there for the other one if something bad happens, believe it or not Ron is an impeccable judge of character. He knows things he just doesn't let others know that he knows."

"Are you speaking from experience?"

"Let's just say my crush on Harry hasn't exactly gone unnoticed by my brother."

Hermione smiled, it was the first genuine smile she had managed since yesterday morning. Getting all of this off her chest seamed to have lifted some of the guilt that she had been feeling.

"Well someone should tell Harry about it because he's been doing the little lost puppy act over you ever since we got back to Hogwarts." Hermione registered the shock on Ginny's face.

"You hadn't noticed?" she asked quietly.

"Noticed what?" said Ginny, to her credit only the tips of her ears had gone red.

"You haven't noticed the way Harry has been avoiding you and Dean when you're together? The way he's been finding excuses to talk to you. The way he watches you when you're flying… I could go on …"

Ginny was looking open mouthed at her.

"You could have said something!"

"I thought that you would have at least noticed, even Ron noticed, although he thinks you're over Harry …or at least he did last time we talked about the two of you."

Ginny looked down at her hands.

"No I still like Harry, but you know that." Ginny looked up at Hermione.

Hermione nodded.

"And now I know what it was like for you watching Harry and Cho, I don't know how you did it."

"In all fairness I didn't have to watch them snogging every day."

"That's true."

"Listen do you want to go back to the hospital wing, Mum and Dad will be there by now so that means the Lavender won't be, family take priority." said Ginny getting to her feet.

"I'm not family."

"Well maybe not yet…" said Ginny quietly, heading for the wooden stairs.

Hermione put the book back on the shelf she smiled contently to herself.

Mrs Weasley hugged Hermione tightly as they entered the hospital wing.

"Family only." grunted a voice from the office.

"Its ok Poppy Hermione is family." said Mrs Weasley ushering the two girls in to the room.

Ron still lay motionless in the bed. Mr Weasley sat beside him turning the pages of the Daily Prophet.

"Anyone we know dead?" asked Ginny sinking in to the vacant seat next to her father.

"Not today thankfully." he answered pushing his glasses further up his nose slightly.

"That's good to hear." said Hermione quietly sitting down next to Mrs Weasley.

"Well they say no news is good news, but that could just mean that you-know-who is being extra careful, which could mean he's up to something." said Mr Weasley folding the paper and placing it on Ron's bedside cabinet.

"Well then lets just hope that whatever it is ends up putting some more Death Eaters inside Azkaban." said Hermione. On the bed, Ron stirred slightly.

Ginny caught Hermione's eye and winked.

"What's he been like?" Ginny asked her mother.

"No change, who was the girl here when we came in? We expected to see the two of you but Poppy said you had both left…"

"The girl was Lavender Brown, Ron's girlfriend," Hermione registered the quick glance at her from both Weasley seniors when Ginny said this. "She's a king size pain in the backside so me and Hermione left."

Mr Weasley suppressed a laugh, which made Hermione think that he secretly agreed with his daughter's statement.

"She did seam rather-"

"Annoying?" offered Ginny when her mother searched for the right word.

"I think what your mother is trying to say is she didn't think Ron would like that sort of girl." said Mr Weasley looking at Hermione as he spoke. Hermione made a point of examining the pattern on the tiles on the floor.

"What the airhead type? He doesn't as a rule." Ginny poked her brother in the side he winced but didn't wake up. "But he was getting desperate, you know Ron."

"So how long have they been courting? And why did no one think to inform me?" asked Mrs Weasley looking at her youngest son.

"Since before Christmas." said Hermione. Mrs Weasley looked around at Hermione the look of comprehension creeping across her face.

"So that's why you declined our offer of Christmas at the Burrow? I had wondered." Said Mr Weasley looking at Hermione, something like pity crossed his face.

"We weren't speaking at the time, we had a fight…but I think were friends again now."

Ginny laughed and Hermione shot her an evil look.

"Good." said Mrs Weasley turning her attention back to her son. "You're the sort of friend that he shouldn't lose."

There was something in the way that she said it; it was as if she was giving Hermione her blessing. Right then Hermione wasn't sure what made her happier, the blessing of Ron's parents or the fact that they apparently hated Lavender as much as she and Ginny did.

The Weasley's and Hermione ate dinner in the great hall as Harry sat at Ron's side. Lavender had seen it as her excuse to go visit again, as she had pointed out loudly to everyone still in the hall when the Weasley's and Hermione had entered, that she was Ron's girlfriend and entitled to see him, and since Harry wasn't family she would go with him.

Mr Weasley looked at Hermione and Ginny for an answer.

"That was for my benefit, don't worry about it." said Hermione quietly.

"I'm telling you we could make it look like an accident." Ginny whispered under her breath.

Hermione stabbed her fork violently in to the potato on her plate.

If only.

After getting the Invisibility cloak back from Ginny, she said goodnight to the Weasley's at the front door.

"Where you going?" asked Harry as the three of them headed back to the common room.

"Prefect duties." said Hermione winking at Ginny. Harry was standing ridiculously close to Ginny, how had she not figured it out?

"I don't know if I like you walking around the castle on your own." said Harry anxiously.

"I'm fine Harry stop worrying. Anyway I'm sure you and Ginny have plenty of things to talk about." she grinned as she spoke, a look of intrigue crossed Harry's face.

"Goodnight!" she said disappearing along the second floor corridor.

Again, she ran in to Draco Malfoy, again, he was leaving the girls toilets.

He looked paler than the last time she had seen him. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her.

"I didn't realise you were as obsessed with Myrtle as this." said Hermione walking up to him.

"What has it got to do with you Mudblood?" he said scathingly but his heart didn't appear to be in it at all.

"Nothing and I don't fancy getting soaked through tonight, so I'm not even going to ask what you were up to."

"Like I would tell you." he looked down at her. The bags under his eyes were almost black now. He was not the dramatically handsome as he had been. She was strongly reminded of Sirius in the last days at Grimmauld place that Christmas, maybe it was just the family connection after all they were cousins.

"If you're desperate enough I think you would do anything, what's wrong your cronies deserted you? Did they find a bigger bully to boss them about?"

"Nothing to do with you Granger." he sneered. "And where are you off to anyway? To see your weasel boyfriend?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah actually I am." she said watching him as he sneered.

"I didn't think you had it in you…doesn't he already have a girlfriend?"

"Since when did the love lives of Gryffindor students interest you?"

"It doesn't…" he watched as she began to walk away.

"Then why ask?"

"It's good to know these things…and Granger…"Hermione stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Next time do us all a favour and push him over the banister and not just on to it, the world could do with one less muggle loving blood traitor."

Hermione tried not to rise to the bait but it proved too difficult.

"What you been doing spying on us?"

"Prefect duties Granger that's all." he sneered again before disappearing around the corner and towards the grand stairs.

Hermione's walk up to the hospital wing was a slow one, she was thinking about the fact that now two people in the castle knew about her and Ron.

No one would believe Malfoy; he had been spreading malicious rumours about Ron and Hermione for so long that no one took anything he said for the truth anymore.

She pulled the cloak on before crossing the courtyard; she did it just in time, Lavender almost bumped in to her as she stepped out in to the moonlight courtyard. Hermione held her breath until the other girl was out of sight.

She walked quietly across the courtyard and followed the same routine that she had done the night before.

Ron lay in his bed, his eyes were still closed, his face impassive.

She sat down in the large chair and cast the silencing spell upon the curtains.

"Ron?" she asked quietly, he stirred in his sleep.

"Ron, it's me Hermione, come on pull the other one I know your awake, you have been all day, your just faking it."

He didn't respond.

Hermione pulled the cloak off and folded it neatly putting it on the chair next to her.

She got to her feet and leant over Ron, she kissed him gently on the lips.

"You're no sleeping beauty, so stop playing like you are." she said quietly.

He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"You knew?"

"Yes I knew you didn't twitch half as much as you normally do when you're asleep." Hermione went to sit back down but Ron grabbed her gently.

"I don't blame you." he said quietly.

"Yeah I know." she sighed pulling his grip from her. "You taste like essence of rue."

"Damn site nicer than that bezoar."

"I bet."

Hermione looked at him; he rolled on to his side so he could watch her.

"Why did you leave this morning when Lavender showed up?"

Hermione looked at him.

"Because I had to, I would have killed her." Ron reached out and put a hand on hers.

"Listen Hermione thanks for stopping here last night." he said squeezing her hand.

"You were awake?"

"Ironically you were asleep." he said smiling.

"Sorry."

He shook his head.

"No I'm sorry. You're right Hermione I have been an insensitive git."

Hermione let go of his hand.

"I've been thinking, maybe were not meant to be together, at least not just yet."

Ron looked at her he nodded.

"I was hopping that you would disagree, talk me out of it."

He pulled himself up on to his elbow.

"Hermione I've waited for you before, I can do it again. And for your information it's very easy to mistake a grim for a sheep…."

"Yeah but you aren't stupid enough to take it that seriously." said Hermione as Ron placed his hand over hers again.

"After what happened I'm taking no chances." he looked at the pile of presents next to his bed.

"Happy birthday. Sorry I didn't get you a present." she said sadly.

"Hermione you're here with me that's all I care about, plus you can always get me something later."

He smiled at her.

"Oh I can, can I?"

"Yeah. 'Cause you love me right?" he smiled sheepishly. "Lavender told me what you said to her, I have to say it was hard to pretend to be asleep whilst she told me that."

"We'll it's true." Hermione said handing him his pile of presents.

She watched him unwrap his gifts in silence.

Occasionally he would look at her over the top of some wrapping paper; they would smile and then go back to what they were doing.

"Ron, tell me if it's none of my business, but why are you pretending to be asleep?"

"Don't want them asking questions."

"What about?"

"One, why I was stupid enough to eat something that had love potion in it, two why I would ever take a drink from Slughorn, and three why I would call out for you in my sleep…" he stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"I was wondering about that…"

"I'll tell you about it some day." there was something wicked in the way he grinned at her.

"Why not tell me now?"

"Because it could lead us somewhere that were not supposed to be going….not yet anyway."

He went red, and as Hermione buried her face in her hands, she felt the heat rising in her cheeks.

Hermione chanced a look between her fingers. Ron was looking at her grinning.

"Now Hermione what could you possibly think I meant?"

Hermione gave a nervous giggle.

"Mind in the gutter." he shook his head.

"You do realise that Lavender blames me for you being here."

"Did you have to bring her up?" Ron asked his face contorted.

"Sorry but she does."

Ron shrugged, "Let her, as soon as I can figure out the easiest way to get rid of her the better." he looked at Hermione.

"It's ok I understand you don't want to hurt her feelings." Hermione said quietly.

She knew that Ron was thinking of the bigger picture.

"Malfoy knows." Hermione said quietly.

"He does what now?" said Ron the wand in his hand turned in to a live rat and scurried of the bed.

"He saw us, the day before your birthday, he saw us." Hermione looked at Ron.

He was pulling the face he pulled when he was trying to figure out his next move in chess.

"We may just be able to use this to our advantage." he said the corner of his mouth twisting in to a smile.

* * *

_**thanks for the reviews. **_

_**i have one more chapter to go then i will start my new story, thanks to everyone who's suported me with this one, it's apreciated.**_

_**xxx paula-louXXX**_


	14. weasley is our king

disclamer : i don't own but it was fun to write

Ron was in the hospital wing a little over a week and a half, no one seamed to care, unless you counted Hermione, Ginny and Harry, and of course the omnipresent Lavender who had taken to following Harry around leaving Hermione little choice but to sit as far away from her in the stands wiliest the Quidditch team practiced.

McLaggen circled the hoops menacingly. Hermione thought of the best way to punish him for taking Ron's spot on the team whilst the man in question lay in a hospital bed. Her answers seemed limited and dated; most had already appeared on the list 'A thousand ways to do in The Lavender.'

Ever since the day in the library Ginny and Hermione had been adding the word the in front of lavenders name much as if you would if you were referring to something like the plague.

Lavender was the enemy and Hermione was beginning to see how Ron's overall plan would fall in to place. Although how this was easier than just dumping her was beyond Hermione Ron had assured her that his plan would work.

Step one of the master plan was for him to continue to pretend to be asleep when The Lavender visited, it appeared to have the desired affects she had done nothing but complain to Harry about it ever since.

What Ron planed on doing after that was anyone's guess.

That night under the cover of the invisibility cloak Hermione joined Ron in the hospital wing, true to their agreement on the second night Hermione had visited, they had not even mentioned the possibility of them being together, however Ron's hand would find hers with absentminded slips of concentration, or maybe deliberate acts of persuasion Hermione was never sure. The topics of conversation were never about them but always about them, and the way that Ron would look at her as if she was the most important thing in his life made Hermione immensely glad that none of her friends knew how to see in to her mind.

When she left the next morning, she passed Ginny on the stairs, obviously on the way to see her brother before the match.

"Lavender was looking for you this morning, she knows you weren't in your bed last night." said Ginny in a low whisper.

"That's just great that is." Hermione said shoving the invisibility cloak a little deeper in to her bag.

"I told her you must have fallen asleep in the library." said Ginny smiling.

"Well I did." said Hermione trying to muster a face of innocence.

Ginny nodded. "Yep that's the face you need to pull, butter wouldn't melt would it?"

Hermione was still smiling to herself when she caught up with Luna on the way down to the Quidditch pitch, Hermione kept a safe distance the lion hat of Luna's was known to take a random chunk out of anyone at any time, in fact she was surprised it didn't appear on Filch's list of dangerous and banned objects.

Hermione had to admit she hadn't expected to be visiting the hospital wing this soon, but as she sat on Ron's bed watching Ginny, Dean and the two new beaters plan McLaggen's comeuppance she was glad that she could at least spend open time with Ron.

"Maybe it was McLaggen who's trying to do the team in," said Ron from his bed." First the necklace takes out our best chaser, I get poisoned and now the team captain and the best seeker in the school ends up in the next bed from me, I mean I know McLaggen thinks he knows everything, but he can't play all seven positions at once."

Dean laughed, but Ginny hadn't taken her eyes of Harry since Madam Hooch had brought him up here.

Soon the matron rushed everyone from the room, well everyone except Ginny and Hermione, Ron had argued too much about Hermione leaving and Ginny had refused to give up her spot next to Harry.

Hermione now sat on the bed listening to Ron quote Luna's commentary.

"You know she's starting to grow on me." he said as Hermione leaned back on his pillow.

"Well she's very fond of you, well when you're not saying nasty things." said Hermione resting her arm on his.

"She knows I'm just joking."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

As it reached teatime, the two girls excused themselves and headed down to the great hall.

Beside the hourglass full of Emeralds, they ran in to Lavender.

"Where have you been?" she asked snidely.

"We went to see Harry." said Ginny quietly.

"Was Ron their?" asked a Lavender staring at Hermione.

"No he got up and decided to take himself on a cruise down the Nile." Ginny said pulling Hermione past Lavender.

"Look what we have here." came a snide little voice.

"Evening Malfoy." said Hermione not even turning around.

"What's wrong the pair of you fighting over Weasel?" Hermione chanced a look at him the corners of his mouth twisting and his eyes glinting in a way she hadn't seen since she saw it through a mask in the hall of prophesies.

"Malfoy get lost." said Ginny pointing her wand at him, Malfoy had been on the end of her bat boggy hexes before he shook his head and stalked off down the south corridor.

Ginny exchanged looks with Hermione she shrugged and tried to ignore the in-dignified grunts of Lavender from behind her.

When Harry and Ron were finally let out of the hospital wing life became even more difficult for Hermione. Even though Lavender wasn't around nearly as much as she had been, Ron had yet to let Hermione in on his master plan.

As they sat around in the library doing their homework for Snape, Harry yawned, he looked stressed, Ron had told Hermione this morning that Harry hadn't been sleeping well of late and that he was starting to think that maybe the nightmares were coming back. Hermione had told him it was more likely what lay ahead that made him so uncomfortable.

Being friends with Ron again had raised a few eyebrows, the after affects of that Daily Prophet article about her Harry and Krum were still floating around especially in the Slytherin camp, but none so close as the accusations that were floating around in her own room.

"She's only talking to him again now because he's all interesting."

Well he was certainly interesting but not in the way that they thought that, he was.

Hermione smiled to herself as she thought about the way that this had turned out, bizarrely now they were a lot more at ease with each other. The reality of admitting the truth hadn't damaged there relationship nearly as much as Hermione thought it would.

"Were covering Dementors not dung bombs." She said reading the parchment over.

Harry laughed at her…Ron looked at her pleadingly.

"I'll go over it." She started tapping the parchment with the end of her wand and it started to correct itself.

"I love you Hermione." said Ron leaning back in his chair.

"Don't let Lavender hear you say that." she said catching his eye for the briefest second.

Harry looked at the two of them shaking his head slightly.

"Maybe I will then she might dump me." he said sighing.

Hermione turned her attention back to the parchment, she deliberately tuned out these days when talk turned to Lavender, and it was amazing how things seem easier when you just pretend they don't exist.

It was growing dark outside when Hermione and Ron fell in to step half way along the second floor corridor. Prefect duty was still the only time the two of them managed to get completely alone together since they were aloud out past the curfew. They had hardly spoken at all just enjoying the fact that they could talk about anything if they wanted, but they knew they didn't have to talk now, there were no awkward silences.

As they reached the girls bathroom they stopped.

"What we doing here?" Hermione asked quietly. Ron opened the door carefully and stepped inside. He pulled Hermione in after him quietly.

They looked at the deserted bathroom.

"You still want to be part of my master plan?" he asked quietly.

Hermione looked around at him, for the first time ever she noticed the resemblance to Fred and George, it was the look of mischief that crossed his that had done it. She nodded.

Slowly he pulled her towards him.

"What you doing?" she said looking up at him as he placed his hands around her waist.

Behind them there was a small clinking sound in one of the cubicles, Ron's mouth twitched.

"Perfect." he whispered in to her ear. "Is it alright if I kiss you?" he asked gently.

Hermione nodded quietly she knew what his plan was now.

She closed her eyes as his mouth found hers, it had been to long since the last time and she missed him, his kiss was warm and welcoming, as was the way he pulled her close.

She chanced a look when they broke apart; Myrtle was watching them from the cubical. Just as Ron had wanted, she had a feeling Ron knew this but as he kissed her again, it seemed like the last thing on his mind at the moment.

Hermione closed her eyes again. Despite the promises that they made to each other she couldn't help it, if he had never kissed her if they had never started this she would be ok. But now she had to follow it through there was no way for her to stop , at this exact moment in time all that mattered was that Ron wanted her like this.

He deepened the kiss, his tongue forcefully fighting with hers, both battling to be the one in control of the situation. Hermione eventually giving up and letting him win.

Hermione felt the coldness of marble behind her with her free hand she felt it out, the sinks were pressing in to the backs if her legs as Ron pushed her up against the long cracked mirror.

His body pressed up against her making her gasp for breath, Ron took this as a sign and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"You ok?" he asked her looking at her in the light of the torches that lined the stonewalls.

His eyes sparkled as the fire danced in them, she looked at his face, there was no trace of embarrassment or regret just a confused look as if this was too good to be true.

"I'm more than ok." Hermione said quietly her hands playing with the bottom of his t-shirt. "So this master plan of yours is for Lavender to find out from everyone but you?" Hermione asked him quietly.

"Something like that…I wasn't supposed to get so," he looked for the right word. "Carried away?"

Hermione grinned.

"I don't mind." Hermione said quietly.

"I noticed." he said as Hermione pulled him back to her initiating the kiss.

Hermione had to admit it was having the desired affects, Ron was exactly the same around Lavender but she seamed to hang around less and less, she actively avoided Hermione as much as possible, this suited Hermione just fine.

It was after all just a case of putting the pieces in place, loading the board until checkmate was inevitable no mater what.

As Ron had foreshadowed Myrtle told Malfoy about what she had seen in the toilets that night, (and twice since, even if they tried not to … and not that Hermione was counting. Honest.) Ever since Malfoy and his cronies had been watching the two of them like hawks.

Ron would grab her hand on the way to potions as Malfoy walked behind them.

If enough rumours came from Slytherin camp then Lavender was bound to start believing them.

Lavender's snide comments of 'I'm watching you' had grown; she got them at least twice a day now.

However, Hermione was so busy trying to convince Harry that the memory he needed to get from Slughorn was more important than Harry knew, and the downright absurdity of Hagrid wanting them to attend the giant spider's funeral that night in the grounds.

It was this topic that had lead them up to the boy's room, the three of them descending the staircase some time later, Harry covered in his invisibility cloak.

That was the final straw for Lavender, "What were you doing up there with her alone?" a question Hermione felt sure Gryffindor common room had heard many a time in years gone by.

Ron looked down at his feet and Hermione stared absentmindedly at the fire.

"Well come on?"

"Talking." said Ron.

"Oh yeah just like you were talking in that girls bathroom?" said Lavender her head tipped on to the side one hand propped on her hip.

"What are you on about?" Hermione said the look of innocence that she now had down plastered on her face.

"Don't play dumb, I know you want Ron for yourself, everyone knows you want Ron for yourself."

Hermione looked at Ron and then at Lavender.

"If I wanted Ron do you seriously think that I would have let him anywhere near you?" but Hermione wasn't looking at Lavender she was watching the fight brewing between Dean and Ginny. Was this the luck potion that Harry had taken kicking in? Did Harry secretly want Ron and Hermione together? Because she knew that, he definitely wanted Dean and Ginny apart.

"You're not even listening to me are you; sorry am I not good enough for a self-righteous cow like you to be bothered with."

Hermione went to retaliate with a witty remark but it was Ron who cut across her.

"Lavender you can't talk to my friends like that."

"Friends…yeah right." if looks could kill Hermione would be seven feet under.

Ron took a deep breath.

"Lavender if you can't deal with me and Hermione being friends …well then we shouldn't be together."

It was as if someone had put a silencing charm on the room.

Lavenders face contorted it looked as if she was about to internally combust.

She turned on her heals and headed up the stairs.

Parvati and a group of fifth years followed her casting Ron harsh looks as they passed.

Hermione looked at him he was staring at the floor.

"That wasn't that hard now was it?" Hermione said sarcastically as she watched Dean copy Lavenders actions and head up the Boys staircase.

The noise in the room began to grow again as Hermione lead Ron in to a quite corner of the room; they were soon joined by Ginny whose face looked almost as stressed as Ron's.

"What's up?" Ron asked looking up from the table where he had placed his head.

"I dumped Dean." she said shaking her head, "But that's not important…finally dumped the succubus I see."

"We'll it saves the two of you doing her in." he said raising an eyebrow.

"Hey she was asking for it. Anyway, are any of these rumours true? What have you two been up to in the toilets?"

Hermione went red; it was one thing to lie to Lavender but Ginny?

"Oh Hermione that's just nasty, you don't know what he's got…."

Ron looked at the two girls.

"Hello just sitting here!"

"Yeah so?"

Even so as they listened to Ginny, go on about why she had dumped Dean, Hermione felt Ron search out her hand under the table.

Hermione didn't see Lavender until Charms, she had gotten up before the others and the curtains were drawn tightly around her when Hermione had gone to bed.

Harry's news however shoved the thoughts of everything else out of Hermione's head, if what Harry said was true that made Voldemort almost invincible, and it made the task that laid ahead even more difficult.

Hermione wasn't the only one distracted Ron had been making it snow for the last ten minutes.

"It looks like we have really bad dandruff." he said carefully brushing it from her shoulder. Behind them Lavender gave an audible sob. Ron looked guilty but Hermione couldn't help it, the smile creped to her face Harry gave her a strange look.

"We broke up." said Ron quietly.

He looked at Hermione searching out her eyes as he brushed the last of the snow from her shoulders.

The look read volumes.

Both knew now it was now when and not if. However, there would be time for them later; right now Harry was the priority. Ron would always be there to install her bravery and Hermione would always be there to be his voice of reason, they needed each other and now that they understood each other, they need to help Harry understand himself, get him through this whilst he still needed both of them.

Then maybe after all this is over, maybe then they could be together properly.

"It was a day for break-ups, Dean and Ginny broke up yesterday as well." Hermione said quietly.

Hermione smiled as the glint of triumph shone in his eyes.

Hermione figured the first step on helping Harry find himself was getting him together with someone who never really thought of him as lost in the first place.

Hermione watches him as he strides out of the crowed of well-wishers, the quidditch cup held tightly in his hand.

He seeks her out in the crowed and walks over to her; a rousing chorus of Weasley is our king residing over his humble servants.

"Your majesty." Hermione says bowing to him as he approaches. His face every bit as handsome as it ever was, even covered in mud and an assortment of coloured confetti.

"Get up." he grins as he picks her up by the waist and pulls her behind one of the stands.

"Weasley is my king, Weasley is my king." Hermione sings gently under her breath, it's only just audible over the noise coming from the victorious Gryffindors.

"Damn right I am." he says putting her down and checking to see if anyone's looking.

Hermione picks at the gold writing on the front of his robes R.B. Weasley, she traces the line of his robes up to his neck.

"Not bad since I only got in to the team because someone cheated." he said looking down at her. Hermione looked at him, all this time he had known.

"I know you had my best interests at heart," he says softly, kissing the end of her nose.

"Like hell I did, do you know how good you look in Quidditch robes, I did it for myself."

He laughs, it's a deep laugh and Hermione knows to make the most of them, she might not get to hear them for a long time, soon enough there may not be anything to laugh about.

He kisses her quickly before dragging her back to the party that is moving its way back to the common room. This was the way it had to be stolen moment, time to fall back and block out the outside world, Harry, Ginny the impending battles they could all be forgotten in a few secret moments between friends, friends who would do anything to protect each other, even if it meant meeting in secret all over the castle.

Ginny falls in to step beside the two of them she catches Hermione's eye and Hermione falls back from Ron so that he can't hear the two girls.

"I'm going to tell Harry, about how I feel and stuff." says Ginny quietly as Ron pauses for the two of them at the castle door.

"Good." says Hermione looking at Ron, "It makes life a lot easier."

"You think?"

Hermione smiled.

"I know."

* * *

**_The End?_**

**_One day I may have time to write a sequel, but who knows, personally I think something is defiantly going on between our favourite book worm and lovable goof , it died of in book 5 and then came back in book 6 and Hermione took all that Lavender stuff a little too bad._**

**_I could be wrong , I probably am, but there are a thousand and one possibilities and I'm not Jo Rowling so until book 7 we won't know will we…._**

**_My new story is called From the Shadows……the o/c character won its set post Hogwarts years but it's back at Hogwarts its HR/R H? so you know. Now go read that one lol_**

**_thank you to everyone who reviewed I will reply to everyone when I can big massive hugs paula-lou_**


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